^ I * 


I J • «* “ • J ’• I 
« *41* 

. >) Ç ^ 4. 

^ • I - M %f . 

« •. I *.. . . • ' ^ 4 

W' ' t-* ' . ^ 

i * . » » •• *1 

-/ * • * ^ y - 

V . i « ' J t 

'.t / % » / ‘ 

^ * «• t * 4 

« • i .i4* . . sÇ‘i 

\ * t ' f* J • 

'•\^ V:rï. '.; 

# -_ Ï • T r i 

f • > . • 

u * k, ' t • 

-t ♦ *.' 4 V ^ 

If».. ^• I 

I* 


If .4 


V i -i ? 

’T '•■ 


•. , 

f ««.«*» 

• 4 * Ifc > •! * 

7^r :.7'.î" 

41 r ^ 1 . - uh 


«■« 4* •« 

r * 

V V ? 

m; 


4r. 

t.î 

^rl 


^ï'- i • ^ • 4‘T; 

*. f.rvy vj -'.T.^v.tT.T 

• V -t .J • I -4 -• f ^,f \ 

r,; ri.4 7t*fL 

.' 4 V ;% ; V - 4 ti • 3< \ 

4m ^1 *4 I .V4 - « M ^4 

^ i \! A / -, V ;. 

•-» I • t " ^ I U • 

^ V • “- I ^ 

^ ^ ^ • . 

*i % k * L ^7 1 y I 

^ T j 4 >? * 

' % *'4 *-r 'w* -•- •• 

T.m « •‘> ^ 


A I * T 


^ < ."5 I 


’ 4\,> ,» 

-1 

u 'J.;''.; 

■ A» » J » •• 

•r.\i '. 

?î.riT.y 

N<: .i ' { 

\i v 

' ^ ♦ ,• 4 1 

^'.f 

-I «■ 1 5 • i; 

< > ^ I -^r V •^•1 «• «lu 

e 4 » • %f vf -.T ^ .‘ 4 > 

I ► 'W 1 -. • 4 . 4 * e 
* V ^ ^ • -4 V •> *7 y ' -I 
• *¥»•.» 4/ *1 ;;4 f ^ 

49 A M \ '^ • 4* ^9 I K 


-f » #l * ’ ^ ' 4- T 

i - # . V ^ I , V ^ 

-Î r . :, k # ’-V 
> / ♦ I . * i , 

• • .^ » - M U » u t* ^ • 

f 4 /C--:v » 

tl • A 4 ^ •. • S I ^ . 

f j"*- f ' Vv-r ‘ i'»’’ 

f'-£‘'V ','■.? *ï’ 

I . I J i « . II * \i 

r:?'*- 

'v?.rvp'^ï'l'V7' 

V - ' .'‘^ .r, / V< S' .»JV 

•-..Tlri.T*-? ‘i 
•‘ <'? r>."V7*.r 

• « Î f .1 • 4 X » '. I ._j 


« nf / 

* ‘4* ’ > 

*' / •* jr 

I V I ii 

• • » I 

-, .‘- Î 

T? > ’’ 

r r„ 

y r 
Jr'..- '. 

S¥ •% V 
i -• 4 ^ 

, * 4 

y f 

7 


« '. " 4 

•' .^4 

» • t 


7 ;iJ’ 

' i . 
t : i 

« « 

? ',C 

VÎ4i 

. • 

It: 

4 if 


I -s^ •/ I -ai « 

• <?r jT l T ^ « 4> « r ; ' 


\h.;vvy ‘T^r -f \v ;7 

o .1 V ^ -^4 ik i» •ii i if f «1 

hJ / I ,4 4 /» f ^ 4 «t t -#/%#•» » 
•4/ < •' ? V i -it -f. \ ^ '^4 V 


7\hf' 

tJ I ^ I », 

-I • ^ ; -V 
4 -i « 4lV 

t '.4' ■'? 

f v;^i 

• *. <4 T& 

I t < U '• 

I •» < J > 
^ «. *1 #% 

\ . y Î i 

. -■< K t 

• # '. 

‘,.f 

'..t:r 


/‘-If ' r'f’t’** .-• 

^ I r 4 \ ^ .i • T ' I ^ 

< * ^ « .4 t 4 f •’ V* * * ^ 

- ; Id « T M • » f i|4 » 

r « ^ 1 •■f 9 •« . « • «» 


t m I 9r 


^ » *T * «Z i • *t .* n 

r 4 . i f ^ i J 9 *. y» - I 

J f > .J ^ . ft- i ^ ¥ 

• » vf 1* 9 ^ 5 ^ 

. f I j • I V •• • '^ r 

V *v* .«-‘.Rr,» d 

-à 4.» c -d Ï . i ft' •¥ %. 

I I -n t «* i' V - T 

,4 VrIrlvVi î.4rl 


Y W ^ 4tt 
f y7 » » 


«i tf w ft -7 . 


} i 

:^t 

PS 

t* r 

.1 '•! '. 

\il 

.?•'■: \ 

S' - 1 

? f 


«t t fi ^ 




j ^ • « • 

f «y .• -s 4 


n 9 n I 




.• ■«• r. 1 At «• 

# ^ i 9 • ^ 9 

-» Vk'4^' 4t»J^V 

f ÿ ^ ^ 4 « I ir V X f . 

i < -0 1 V t • s r • • * ' ^ 

i 'Y I T? k ir • , f ^ M 

]: ✓ • to -tft j ft 

I # i| « 4 4 9 V ft 9 *> 
'iH /I rft *ir 

<% .*. ^ t 4 i i i 

*ft I. » ¥ ar I < %* «11 


I a I. '^•1 




ft ft « % . M n t ft 
[ - r ft4 jf 1^4 

?-9 4J % 9 9 


j tk V <é 


4 4ft J 


ft--' , ? < : 1-»» % 


t ii ^ f N > ■*.',’» 'n* I r 

I 4 ft ^ 4 . f ?4 -i* r> 


• z* i c f 

' • » • J il 


'• * ■ •* '-. I 

pië 

-kM ar#ft 

:-‘^n 

■ f i 

•’i vt ,i 

• 9^ >i ^ 


V i > 


•4 At ^ t 


\ .t ^ 


T k ft «4 


4 I ; 


^ - i/ -î'ft 


: >^: 

■ ^ 

* ft n. t 


C ft 

» * 

#* . 

jtf ft «. 

p *. » 

' 

‘ -1 

■'*î 


H ' - V 

« . ’ 'I 4 ( 

* < i X 

? 

f .' 1 > ft 

n' < ^ I ; 

ft " / 


“ '» V» »1 

/M 

/■« - 1 

f ‘/M j 

I V « *i 

« 


^ 4. ♦ . . • * » . 

ft ^ ft I . •- 

'*• ft ^ ^ 

^1 - i ^ ft • v‘ 

-*. 4 Y • ^ n I -ftf 
. ^ ' 9 f .1^*4 

.1 - .*4 • f , . 

i ft — / ♦ i f *• 4 
I -t r ^ r 

* 4 y ^ H I >4v V 

«*9 « .¥ r^ft w 


^ 1 1 • • 
r?.rv 

^ r 
I >4 V V 

r-4ift w 


1 ft T k 
; ^ » r* I 
r i».r ft .% 

; i ft 

fv-* . y 
I’yi 

' ^ : ..' 

- « S 4 -f 

:1' -v '.. 
•*« • ^ < 
ft I a < . 

ft I •• ft 
r > a • 4ft 
* 

* I ' ' 

- iyt\ 


y 

19-4- 

•^4. i 


•I V.» *7 4 

ft«s- 51 

■ './Vw 
, rïi : 

^ *V\i 

■/ ■. •. ^ 

V* ' • • 

. 1 ♦ . .4 

1 ^ ft *.? 

" » V ^ 

. . '. f 

f i* * t* * 

-> • «i* V 

t n4 > 

A j « â 

•> • <^ V 'a* 

4 Î JL * -> ' 

iL\ >• \ ^ ^ ** 

h ^ t ^ ’ 

, ^ f - / 

« ^ 1 * * .4 4 

r I s/ f , 1 

I w* f . • .; ft 

. » * v .ft . 

X ft ,•• • ♦ 'X 

4 •-•VI 

£. t « 4 a 
• H X 'V I 
1 7 T ft I • ' 


ft t » ♦ A *?» ft 


• i 1 


i m \ ^ M 1 M 
r. • w r ^ft T -ft 
I ' 1 * 4 ‘•4 

9 ft ^ w f «- T 


« ft 4 « 


-S ‘ ^ ^ I *1 \ -ÿ* ft 2 f .1 

n* < \ n • A T -n ^ jf ^ '4 - • 

.i’r i.îj;*'*’'- 

t i ft i Î A4 ft -f • - • - t y l‘ ‘ -ft V • ^ 

• a I ^ ^ I »' 


ft £ f ^ i 'I ' ’ ft 

« a ft . A Î « 
4 1 .T ft r- 1 : 1 ^ 


« Y - • . . I \ J. 
. € ^ % • « . .4 
ft ^ . .^s 


V */> 


Vf 


f .Mi 


^ * ’A • I 


Vftf «9 4 % I ». f 


• './ , 9 • h> I 

If 


fîfîKH 


7i7i7 

•*? f '- “ 

4 I; ,*'i P 

Ai r •• 

1 I M 

'ft ■;% h 

4 .1 4 .t * 
^. ^' ta » v-i 
i> ♦ » i| 

As M .ft *J 

ft -V I -4 ft 




^ » V f 

tri/. 


, ^ k* nf I 

•4 » «« ( . V ft 
4 4 ft «4 ft j; 

^ ‘ « «1 ft 

Ç 1 « ’ V I ^ 

- ft ft rf , » ft 
. f ft 

-y 1 •* ft -ft 

<• li f 

4 \ ^ ft «< 

-« A\ 
**,»’* 

4ft 1 -T ft V P 


^ tf -A V ft irt 
ft t ft 4 T - • I tk 
ft ^ k 


• 4i • ft 

» a» < < 

. vft ft > I ^ 

4 41 V y J 

V i V t 

t ’^> 

i J <17 

* <>i ft < * 

» r.r ;♦ 

«4 À V' 41 

♦ •#! 9 ft 
^ * il ^ Jr 


fVdl 

t ft k • 


4 A4 M 


I -! i -1 


4 a ♦ tv 7 'J 41 5 * ft 2 : 

. 1 » • T / y I'ft r 

4 { y ♦ M /4 V t ‘ V 

ft i> • # : M j !< / b T « 

ft *• '. s> i ^ 

. r ^ f -y V* ^ ^ 

1 '*> %T 1*1 




» .Î I tt ^ 
> I « * t 


I 44 .♦ . t 

7 f u' '■ % 


' T’t'J.f 


» I Vft ' •’<• 


MA ^9 Jâ t m 

Xll/ifl 

A'ftiA •'. « 


ü?î 


4* I 4 « i* < 

9 X* V * 

4 * • k* V « 


if ,T>t 

f .1 '.i ft ; 

f p .; V. I 

i.Ti'v kT 


\ % I • *f 

t • 4 ? 

', ,» A * «À 

* *4^ ft y 4 

* ft 7 I a 

* < .» •* ,' 

• ? i.t > 


■i\ 

ft ^ ft 

-• f - 

* -ft 

V' 

iM- i 


¥ 


l * X * 9 ^ .^>ft J I ^ ^ 
.j 9 9 t ft .* »* • 

t ' i i •' ' V T ^ 

r’ .r,t vt»-?U'î 


?» ? vrjié..«ft 


M •< ■ 4f 




irifXfU 


- • i- A ft 

ft V*ft -a*J 

•Vf 


< ft -V f Ul 

% M ‘ 

-% i ftr t 


* 4 < A ft 1 

« S « #1 4 


4 VI k 

ft V 


4 t ^4 ^ * « 
" 9 » Y m • • 


Y m 


t T:%'*i\ 


r \M A 


% I 


< ft 7 « 


• .ft Akft 


‘9|'t 


4r « 




^ ? • 
• & « 4ft * 


( 4 i A 


' 1. » ^ k : V .*> ft ,▲ 

r 4 -t 4 • V ^ 

'& ft IV • *A f k< ft yu ft 
• ' » -* .4 1. i • f T ft 

\A4 "T • W .* 4»^ - •'-^ I* • 

I i • t ift -*« ‘ Kft « 

i f* 94v‘ «4 ' ^ ^ ^ 

1 / -.fu 4 >4 9 ^ '• t-4 


r /< • '« 








































































x' ^ ^ c> A C^ ^ 

V,., x<\oNc,;\ 

.-r<Sï\ O 







► .> 

^ - '4 py 

o 




^ . 0 ^ SJ. ^ V 

*, 

■^ ^ . *■ <V^\\W W//y'A 2 

* aV 

* '-?j> 

.A >/ 

S^ ^ 0 N r; ^ 

«^ _^C^ÎSr, O 

v/* ^ ^ 

•''' sX V ^ 

^ o(y ^ 


s'' 

^ - y 

.v\^^ >• 

V> 

^ ^ ^A 

^ » 

<y r 

r>J ^ 

. N»’”<' 

A‘ 




<•-. '»•^^^\^ ,o~ 




./ 

^ aN ^ 

^O % 8 1 

. 0 ^' ^ 0 /- '"c^ 

-P '^' V> 

c.*^ ^ /)% ® ^ 

^ <o / ./? </^ 

^ ^ i ^ />//; 

O V// 

^ V' 


^ - V> ’^* 

rl^ y ^SjWÎM^ V 0.'' " t> 




^ 0 « k A o ^ ^ 

-? ^ » <~sSSrv <^ O 

A 

*y 


t> * 




^ Â> ^' . ^ ^ 

'&.'■ » S' -i ■ ✓ 

, A ^ y .. A 

^ ^ \ I iï /» 


3 N 0 - ^ 8 1 "V * A 

.^\\WA= ; 

o A c/ 

- <?■ -, , 
.<. '» 



\ I ft . 



0° . 



o 0 





0^ ^ ' ® -f ^ c ® ^ ^ -f . '^b. ,.0‘ 

'^- -.^' *' MM^^/t\ ■'- o 

: xo 

, s • • .,V* ^ • » ,%' 

<r ^ fA^$r A) ^ \V ^ ^ ^ 

7. 



* ixy 

' “ " ^ V' c » ~ ‘ . %' 

^ -'o *> c-î^^ ^ ^ 

^ A' ^ AYv^ ^ 

Ÿ 

« 





</> ^ 

^ ^ V 

?A= 

21 > 




< ''0..* A . % 

» . <P A c " ^ '■ « '*^< 

u o ^ 

^ = 5^0 O ^ 

> .<0 ' * 8 , ^■^ ^ 


V. 


'^b (î,"^ 


b^A, = 





\ 


.V 

”'" " "^ * b C » ~ * ^'’h' ** '\A •' ' ' ' 









THE EXILES. 


A RUSSIAN STORY. 



AND CONSTANT AMERO. 


BY 


TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH 

BY GEORGE D. COX. 



** The Exiles ” is a Russian love story of great power and originality. The scene 
is laid in Siberia, just now a point of unusual interest because of the hosts of Nihilists 
who will undoubtedly be sent into exile there by the new Czar. The leading charac- 
ters are Vcgor Séménojf, a political convict : Nadège Davidoff, his betrothed: Ladis- 
las, a Polish boy : M. Lafleur , a liberty-lomng French dancing-master : and Yermac, 
chief of police of Yakoutsk. Yegor, Nadège and Ladislas, aided by M. Ixijleur, 
undertake to escape across Siberia. They are followed by Yermac, but reach the polar 
regions, meeting with all kinds of exciting and perilous adventures. These points 
give but a slight idea of this truly wonderful and intensely interesting story ; to fully 
appreciate it, it must be read. The plot is developed in the most skiful jnanner, and 
it is impossible to fathom the mysteries until, in the proper place, they are explained. 
The tale will be relished by old and young alike, its “Robinson Crusoe” features ren- 
dering it unusually attractive to children, and its entire purity fitting it for general 
perusal. The descriptions of the hurricane, the aurora borealis, the polar night, the 
mirage and the breaking up of the ice are marvellously vivid, realistic and beautiful, 
and the characters are so strongly drawn that they are photographed on the 7nemory, 
while the hmnense amount of reliable information concerning Siberia given 7-enders 
the book especially valuable. In a word, “The Exiles" is a masterpiece in every 
point of view, and those who fail to read it will miss a treat of no ordinary kind. Its 
authors are Victor Tissot and Constant Améro, two well-known French itove lists. 
The %vork of translation has been done by George D. Cox in his usual style of excel- 
lence, and the great romance is given to the American public in all its attractiveness. 


PHILADELPHIA 

T. B. PETERSON & BRO , 

306 CHESTNUT STREET. 


•r 



COPYRIGHT. — 1 881. 

T. B. BETEBS02T &b BBOTHEBS. 

< ^ > 

HENRT OREVIIiEE’S CELEBRATED NOTEES. 
Xéiiie’s Inheritance. A Tale of Russian Life. By Henty Gréville. 

Tlie (lifTerent characters that figure in this delightful love story are all drawn with that 
spirited and delicate touch for which this author is especially noted. 

The Trials of Raïssa. A Russian Story. By Henry Grèvüle. 

“The Triaes of Raïssa,” is a love story full of fascination and power. The action 
tikes place in St. Petersburg, the country and Siberia. The descriptions are admirable. 

The Princess Oghérof. A Russian Love Story. By Henry Gréville. 

“The Princess Oqh^rof,” is a thoroughly fascinating love story. Its interest is in- 
tense and sustained, and at no point does the reader find a dull line. It is purity itself. 

Lucie Rotley. A New Society Novel. By Henry Gréville, 

“Lucie Rooet” tenches a great lesson, and in it all readers will find the wife and 
mother “faithful unto death,” though exposed to lots of trials and temptations. 

Savéli’H Expiation. A Powerful Russian Love Story. By Henry Gréville. 

“ Savêli’s Expiation ” is one of the most dramatic and most powerful novels ever pub- 
lished, while a pathetic love story, running all through its pages, is presented for relief. 

Hlarkof, the Russian Violinist. A Russian Slbry. By Henry Gréville. 

“Markof” is an art study, full of beautiful prose and true poetry, and is such a work 
as could be written only by such an artist and genius as the author of “Dosia” is. 

Dosia. A Russian Story. By Henry Gréville. 

“ Dosia ” is a charming story of Russian society, is written with a rare grace of style, is 
brilliant, pleasing and attractive. It is an exquisite creation, and is pure and fresh as a rose. 

Dournof. A Russian Story. By Henry Gréville. 

“Dournof” is a charming and graphic story of Russian life, containing careful studies 
of Russian character, and diameter drawing, which are most admirable. 

Marrying; Olf a Daug;hter. A Society Novel. By Henry Gréville. 

“Marrying Off a Daughter” is gay, sparkling, and pervaded by a delicious tone of 
quiet humor, and will be read and enjoyed by thousands of readers. 

Boiiue-Marie. A Tale of Normandy and Paris. By Henry Gréville. 

“Bonne-Marte” is a charming story, the scenes of which are laid in Normandy and 
in Paris. It will no doubt create a sensation, such is its freshness, beauty, and delicacy. 

Pretty Little Comités») Zina. A Charming Story. By Henry Gréville. 

Zina, the Countess, bears a resemblance to Dosia — that bewitching creature — in her 
dainty wilfulness, while the ward and cousin, Vassalissa, is an entire new creation. 

Sonia. A Russian Love Story. By Henry Gréville. 

“Sonia” is charming and refined, and is a powerful, graceful, domestic story, being 
most beautifully told — giving one a very distinct idea of every-day home life in Russia. 

Pliilomène’S Marriag;es. A Tale of Normandy. By Henry Gréville. 

The heroine’s life is narrated in a most fiscinating manner, and is an admirable pic- 
ture of country home-life, full of wit, of a high moral tone, and full of interest. 

Oabrielle; or. The House of Maiireze. By Henry Gréville. 

“Gabrielee; or. The House of Maurèze,” is a very thrilling and touching story, 
is most skilfully told, and follows the life of the girl whose title it bears. 

A Friciiil ; or, L^Aml. A Society Novel. By Henry Gréville. 

This tender and touching picture of French home-life will touch many hearts, as it shows 
how the love of a true and good woman will meet with its reward and triumph at last. 






J 


k'rj; 


TEAHSLATOE’S PEEEACE. 


For absorbins: interest and picturesqueness, no 



present day can compare 


with “ The Exiles/’ which is now first given to 
the American public. It is truly a marvellous 
work, the result of long study and exhaustive 
researches, and not by any means a hurriedly 
dashed off affair like the majority of novels. 
Treating of Siberia and the life led by Kussian 
exiles in the frozen regions of the north, its 
appearance at this time will be peculiarly wel- 
come, for people everywhere are now turning 
their eyes towards excited Kussia, and are eager 
to know the fate awaiting the bulk of the Nihil- 
ists implicated in the plots which culminated in 
the recent atrocious assassination of the Czar 


( 11 ) 


12 


TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 


Alexander II. The Exiles fully answers every 
question that can possibly be asked in this regard. 
It enters minutely into the treatment to which 
Russian convicts are subjected by the Siberian 
authorities, tells of the depths of degradation 
reached even by eminent political exiles, and 
gives a vivid description of the awful experiences 
of those who are sent to toil in the mines as an 
augmentation of punishment. A very romantic 
escape is also described — the story hinges on 
this escape — in which figure Yegor Séménoff, a 
political exile ; his betrothed, Nadège, the daugh- 
ter of the poet Davido:ff; M. Lafleur, a lively 
French dancing-master; and Yermac, the chief of 
police of Yakoutsk. These people gradually make 
their way to the shore of the Arctic Ocean, amid 
hurricanes, snow storms and perpetual ice. 
They encounter dangers of every kind — famine, 
attacks of wild beasts, intense cold, etc. — and 
even fall into the clutches of an Esaoule and his 
Cossacks. They are enclosed by a burning forest 
and have some stirring and perilous adventures 


TRANSLATORS PREFACE. 


13 


with the nomadic Tchouktchis. Embedded in the 
polar ice, they find a Dutch whaler with a skele- 
ton crew, that fearful disease, the scurvy, having 
done its work of death. But, in the brief com- 
pass of these prefatory remarks, it is impossible 
to enumerate half the novel and striking inci- 
dents with which the romance literally overfiows. 

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the 
graphic account of the long polar night, and the 
vast beauty of the descriptions of the aurora 
borealis and the mirage. In vivid realism 
nothing in recent fiction can approach them, 
and they rival if they do not surpass the wildest 
flights of William Beckford’s imagination in his 
wonderful eastern tale, ^Wathek.’’ It must not, 
however, be supposed that these descriptions are 
the mere coinage of the brain, for they are 
faithful reproductions of nature, as are all the 
astounding phenomena of earth and air detailed 
in the course of The Exiles,” which, from the 
time the fugitives reach the polar regions, 
may not improperly be styled a great Eussian 


14 translator’s preface. 

Robinson Crusoe.’’ Certainly the work is fully 
as absorbing as that famous English classic, and 
has much more dash, vigor and novelty. It is as 
crisp as the air of the boreal pole, and has all the 
interest and value of a book of travels combined 
with the most exciting elements of fiction. The 
authors, Victor Tissot and Constant Améro, are 
well-known Parisian novelists. They have 
devoted years to the investigation of Siberian 
affairs, and have delved into the geography of 
Siberia and the manners and customs of its 
people deeper probably than any living savans. 
The translator has been at considerable pains to 
verify their statements, and a scrupulous exami- 
nation of the best available authorities has in 
every case established their entire correctness. 
Hence, while enjoying the thrilling narrative, the 
reader will acquire valuable knowledge not 
readily obtainable from other sources. This 
knowledge is conveyed in the most entertaining 
fashion and, though copious, is at no point allowed 
to retard the progress of the tale. There are no 


translator's preface. 15 

digressions whatever, and no passages any one 
would feel inclined to skip. 

Of the Tchouktchis, nomadic and settled, very 
little has ever been written for the reason that 
but few travellers have cared to risk their lives 
by penetrating into the wild and unexplored 
wastes of the far-off peninsula they inhabit; 
therefore, the full and circumstantial details çon- 
cerning them to be found in ^^The Exiles" cannot 
fail to be favorably received, especially by the 
learned. Messieurs Tissot and Amero have con- 
ferred a real benefit on the scientific world by 
publishing in so readable a form their investiga- 
tions in regard to this nation, which has for so 
long refused to acknowledge the authority of the 
Czar, and for so long been regarded as the incar- 
nation of all that is ferocious and formidable. 
From The Exiles," too, an adequate idea of the 
magnitude of the Siberian rivers may be obtained, 
and it will astonish many to learn that streams 
figuring on the map as mere threads are vast 
bodies of water sometimes leagues in width. 


16 


translator’s preface. 


Another recommendation of this remarkable 
romance is the description of the various Siberian 
animals and the methods of capturing them ; 
some of the hunting scenes in the book are 
exquisite pictures, and all are full of the most 
intense interest. Local superstitions figure to 
some extent in the story, and on two occasions 
the miraculous power attributed to the chamans 
or native sorcerers is very shrewd 1}^ taken advan- 
tage of by the cunning French dancing-master, 
M. Lafleur. 

The Robinson Crusoe ’’ characteristics of the 
tale will endear it to the hearts of the children, 
and, as the book is in every respect entirely pure 
and wholesome, parents need not hesitate for a 
moment about allowing their boys and girls to 
read it. Another thing that parents would do 
well to consider is that The Exiles ” does not 
belong to the Oliver Optic ” school, to which 
there are so many very reasonable objections. It 
deals largely in adventures, to be sure, but they 
are not of a nature to cause even the most 


TKANSLATOIIS PKEFACE. 17 

romantic boy to wish to indulge in like exploits ; 
besides, as we have already said, the book is a 
complete treasury of Siberian information, and 
the little folks can acquire from it in a few hours 
what it would take years for them to learn at 
school, supposing that such information could be 
obtained there. Readers of a larger growth will 
find plenty to amuse and instruct them in the 
story, which is a masterpiece both in construction 
and execution. The love element pervades it, 
and the pure and tender affection of Yegor and 
Nadège will certainly be appreciated at its full 
value. It should be added that, while exciting 
in the highest degree, the tale is altogether free 
from that cheap sensationalism which mars so 
many otherwise excellent fictions. The action is 
progressive and well-sustained, and every inci- 
dent has a natural and logical cause. The plot 
is not intricate, but it is deftly woven, and the 
various mysteries cannot be solved until the 
authors themselves see fit to give the key to 
them ; this is a merit that but few novels possess. 


18 


translator’s preface. 


The characters are not numerous, but all are 
skillfully drawn and thoroughly individualized, 
so that when the reader finally closes the 
book, Yégor, Nadège, little Ladislas, M. Lafleur, 
Yermac, Tekel and Chort are firmly stamped 
on the memory. 

With respect to the translation, it need only 
be said that it is faithful and literal. The 
authors’ style has been reproduced, and all 
their characteristics have been retained with 
scrupulous care. 


CONTENTS. 

» ♦ 

Chapter Page 

I. THE INSULT IN THE MINE 21 

II. THE DAWN OF HOPE 31 

m. IRKOUTSK 42 

IV. dayidoff’s death 50 

V. THE CHIEF OF POLICE 67 

VI. THE ESCAPE 71 

Vn. THE MURDEROUS ROCK 86 

Vin. IN THE FOREST OF OSTROVOYÉ 99 

IX. A MIGHTY CONFLAGRATION 108 

X. ALMOST A TRAGEDY 125 

XI. THE PRISONER 137 

XII. A TREASURE TROVE 146 

XIII. tekel’s return 156 

XIV. ARRESTED 166 

xy. THE JEW AND HIS GOLD DUST 176 

XVI. A STRATAGEM 186 

XVII. THE CHAMAN 196 

XVm. AT THE MERCY OF A HURRICANE 206 


( 19 ) 


CONTENTS. 


20 

Chapter Page 

XIX. LADISLAS AND THE GOLD-ROBBEKS 212 

XX. A LITTLE HERO 222 

XXI. AN ELK HUNT 227 

XXII. THE POLAR REGIONS 235 

XXIII. PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTER 240 

XXIV. LADISLAS’ RETURN AND DIMITRl’s DEATH 247 

XXV. YERMAC’S EXPERIENCES 256 

XXVI. PRIVATIONS IN THE POLAR NIGHT 263 

XXVII. YERMAC PAYS HIS DEBT 270 

XXVIII. THE TCHOUKTCHIS 278 

XXIX. THE ICE-BOUND SHIP AND ITS SKELETON 

CREW 284 

XXX. wab’s intelligence 296 

XXXI. THE PURSUIT ; 303 

XXXII. NADÈGE AMONG THE TCHOUKTCHIS 310 

XXXIII. THE FUGITIVES AND THE KAMAKAY 317 

XXXIV. SAFE AT LAST 329 

XXXV. MARRIAGE BELLS 352 


THE EXILES. 

-A. aR-CrSSI-A.l>T STOI^^- 


CHAPTER L 

THE INSULT IN THE MINE. 

I T is a terrible augmentation of punishment for exiles 
in Siberia to.be sent to the mines of Nertchinsk. 

On a cold October morning, several years ago, a 
small vehicle deposited a young Russian about twenty- 
five, in front of the wooden house of the inspector of 
one of these mines : that of Oukboul. 

The condemned man, who was pale and weak, seemed 
worn out by the journey from Kieff to Nertchinsk, 
which had been made, without stopping, in an open 
kibitka. For more than two months, he had worn out- 
side of his boots the iron tings of his chain riveted to 
his ankles. 

The gendarme in a blue blouse and brass helmet, 
wlio had accompanied him, entered the inspector’s 

( 21 ) 


22 


THE EXILES. 


office to deliver into his hands the papers concerning 
the exile confided to his care. 

^ On the threshold he ran against and was almost 
overthrown by a hideous-looking man with a swollen 
face, who came out with his hands tied behind his back, 
and was with great difficulty managed by the gendarme 
in charge of him. 

He was a convict who had attempted to escape from 
the shipyards of Okhotsk, and had been brought a long 
distance to be imprisoned in the mysterious fortress of 
Akatouïa, situated on the outskirts of Nertchinsk. The 
very name of this fortress inspires unspeakable terror 
throughout all Siberia. The wretched being had 
effaced with sulphuric acid the word vor (thief) which 
had been branded upon his forehead and cheeks. 

“ I am thirsty ! ” cried he, in a choking voice. “ Give 
me a drink, somebody ! I am dying of fever ! ’’ 

The gendarme paid no attention to his words, but 
fastened him to the heavy wheel of a cart under the 
shed belonging to the inspector’s house. 

From the interior of the mansion escaped the sharp 
sounds of a little violin upon which some one was 
gayly playing the “ Belle Hélène ” quadrille. A lively 
voice was giving out the figures and movements to the 
dancers, whose resounding steps were accompanied 
with fresh and youthful laughter. 

“ A drop of water — something to drink ! ” yelled the 
convict, kneeling in the mud and rolling his wicked 
eyes, while his mouth foamed with rage. 


THE EXILES. 


23 


The new comer turned away from this repulsive 
spectacle, and surveyed the spot where he was to 
undergo his punishment. 

Before him were scattered a hundred cabins and 
yourtes, shelters of the toilers of the mine, above which 
arose here and there wooden edifices tenanted by the 
clerks, the captain, the priest and the physician. He 
also saw the barracks of the guards, the chapel and the 
hospital. Everything had the most miserable aspect. 

Beyond, bounding the perspective, were the Sab- 
lonoi Mountains, whose snowy summits stretched away 
to the east as far as the eye could reach. 

In a ravine, a breach in the perpendicular walls 
rising to a height of more than two thousand feet, 
was the shaft of the mine. 

Upon the blood red rock, the cold had already con- 
gealed the water produced by the melting of the snow, 
and the hydraulic wheel, which a liquid sheet set in 
motion in the summer, was still, rising huge and black 
like an instrument of punishment. 

The icy wind from the ravine brought with it sharp 
needles of frost which pricked the exile’s face. 

He lifted towards heaven a look of sad resignation, 
but quick as lightning youth and right asserted them- 
selves ; his black eyes flashed and his body straightened 
with a movement of pride, which ennobled the con- 
vict’s gray cloak and the hideous little hat which 
concealed the absence of the brown locks shorn off 
by the prison scissors. He scanned the horizon as if 
searching for some way of escape. 


24 


THE EXILES. 


At this moment, the bound convict gave vent to a 
series of hollow howls. The music ceased. Two 
young girls thrust their flaxen heads curiously out of 
the half-open door, and their dancing-master, gently 
putting them aside, emerged, holding his little pocket 
violin in his hand. 

He was over forty. His bearing was decided and 
his air jovial, but there was something of the grotesque 
in his appearance. He looked like neither a native nor 
a Slavonian. 

He approached the convict and asked him in bad 
Russian, but in a tone of interest, what he was com- 
plaining about so bitterly. 

“ These dogs are allowing me to be consumed with 
thirst ! ” cried the wretch. “ It is like red-hot iron in 
there ! ” added he, opening to its full extent a mouth, 
the lips of which were disfigured by the corrosive 
action of sulphuric acid. 

The man of the violin had an inspiration. He drew 
a small empty flask from his fur-trimmed vest, and 
returned to his pupils to ask them to fill it with water. 
Then, he once more made his way to the convict and 
poured the contents of the flask, drop by drop, into his 
burning and swollen mouth. 

The sufferer assumed the look of a grateful animal. 

“ Thank you ! ” said he. 

“You allowed yourself to be recaptured, eh?” said 
the man of the violin. “ Did you not know what 
awaited you ? ” 


THE EXILES. 


25 


“Well, what?” 

“ Fifty blows with the knout and the rest.” 

“I will bear them and afterwards drink the health of 
the Czar, our general father ! ” 

The dancing-master approached the new comer and 
said to him in a low voice : 

“All talk! I wager that he will be dead at the 
twentieth blow! ” 

The young man thought : 

“This is what would happen to me, if I tried to 
escape and was retaken. Between this man and 
myself, by order of the Czar’s judges, there is not the 
least difference.” 

Then, addressing the dancing-master, he said to him, 
extending his hand : 

“ Let me thank you, in my turn, for your generosity 
to this unfortunate being ! ” 

“ I grasp your hand with pleasure,” said the musi- 
cian, who had noticed that the new comer bore on his 
back the square of red cloth indicating a political con- 
vict. “ As to your thanks, they are superfluous. I am 
under no restraint, God be praised ! I belong neither 
to the guards, the police, nor the management of the 
mines. I am a Parisian and a dancing-master. Per- 
haps you are acquainted with Paris, Monsieur? Yes? 
Well, I was born on the Place de la Bastille, opposite 
the column. Vive la liberté ! I doA’t conceal my 
sentiments ! ” 

The gendarme, who had brought the exile, returned 

2 


26 


THE EXILES. 


and informed the young man that the inspector was 
waiting for him. 

“Shake again,” said the dancing master. “Keep 
up your courage ! ” added he, in a whisper, grasping 
the young man’s hand. 

The latter departed, murmuring to himself ; 

“ If he were a friend ! ” 

The inspector, a small, clean-shaved man, with an 
angular profile and impenetrable eyes, ordered the 
exile to strip himself to the belt and, description in 
hand, verified his identity. 

A medallion hung upon the young man’s breast. He 
blushed and quickly covered it with his hand, as if to 
prevent any one from touching or defiling it. 

This action was ill-interpreted by the inspector. 

“ Allow me ! ” said he. 

“ Oh Î ” cried the exile, “ I suppose that there is 
nothing dangerous to the safety of the State in the 
portrait of a young girl — especially that of a martyr — 
the daughter of the poet Davidoff, an exile like myself, 
whom she has followed into banishment.” 

“ I knew Davidoff and his daughter,” said the in- 
spector. “ He worked in this mine.” 

“ And since ? ” said the young man, eagerly. “ In 
pity—” 

“His lot has been ameliorated. He is at present 
living in Irkoutsk.” 

After these words, the inspector entered the name of 
the convict on the register opposite the number 1367 ; 
then, he ordered him to be taken to the mine. 


THEEXILES. 27 

In a few instants, the exile was handed over to a 
corporal of the guards. 

“ Yermac,” said the keeper, “here is a man to help 
fill up the void in your squad of miners.” 

“ Three of my men died this week,” observed the 
corporal, as he drew a note-book from his pocket and 
prepared to write. He looked at the young man. 

“ Yégor Séménoff,” said the latter, thinking that the 
corporal was waiting for his name. “ Shall I write it 
myself? ” added he. 

“ Oh ! I know how to write ! ” said the corporal, 
with a faint smile. “But I need only a cipher. 
Number? ” 

“Number 1367,” answered the keeper. “The in- 
spector directs that he shall lodge in the fifteenth 
yourte, where there are already two convicts.” 

While the keeper was speaking, Yégor Séménoff 
studied the countenance of the man, armed with a 
leather whip, under whose control he was placed. He 
found him possessed of a grave air and bronzed but 
regular features. He seemed to breathe honesty. 
There was nothing of the convict-guard in his face, 
which was rather that of a judge incapable of shrink- 
ing from his duty. 

“ To work ! ” cried Corporal Yermac, striking the air 
with his lash. “ There ! ” added he, pointing to a spot 
where a number of miners were drawing from the 
earth a basket of ore. “ I am behind you ! ” cried he. 

The miners, covered with tattered sheep-skins, filthy 


28 


THE EXILES. 


and barefooted, stared gloomily at the companion who 
had come to them warmly clad and wearing huge sea- 
dog leather boots bought at Nertchinsk, where the 
exile had been able, thanks to the money with which 
he was furnished, to make some useful purchases. 

One of them, going before, showed him the road to 
take. 

It was a ladder more than four hundred mètres long. 
Yégor began to descend, followed by the squad and the 
corporal. Some smoky lamps, placed in cavities of the 
wall, served only to show the thickness of the gloom. 
Halting-places presented themselves at rare intervals. 

Yegor heard at the bottom of the shaft the metallic 
sound of the hammer blows upon the rock. 

The sharp noise, the thick darkness and the sad and 
ragged groups, which, when suddenly lighted up, threw 
out huge shadows, together with the air loaded with 
deleterious dust, made a strange impression upon the 
young man, who, nevertheless, was accustomed to the 
mournful episodes of the prison and exile. 

Nearer, it was, if possible, still more frightful : the 
majority of these men, with great beards, long, shaggy 
locks, swarthy complexions, scaly skins and sinister 
looks, bore upon their foreheads and cheeks the infa- 
mous brand von. They were assassins, robbers and 
forgers, and could be recognized by the squares of cloth 
sewed on the backs of their garments : a red square for 
the murderers, a black square for the robbers and a 
yellow square for the incendiaries. 


THE EXILES. 


29 


The others, belonging to the category of political 
convicts, displayed wan visages and lean bodies under- 
mined by fevers and gnawed by the dust of the ore, 
which sends forth arsenic if it is tin and verdigris if it 
is copper. 

They might be called walking corpses. Some were 
green, with bald pates as white as chalk. Their half- 
blind eyes let their lids droop as if for the sleep of 
death. 

They arose and disappeared suddenly behind a rock, 
or plunged like ghosts into dark corridors; and one 
heard, from time to time, the hiss of a corporal’s whip 
falling upon bony sides and howls caused by pain. 

Yegor had been pushed to the extremity of a corri- 
dor just opened. Alone in this narrow hole, as in a 
stone vault, it seemed to him that he was buried alive. 
He was suffocating. A feeling of terror impossible to 
describe shook his body with convulsive shivers. 

He strove to make use of his hammer, but his arm 
fell back inert and weak, as if paralyzed. 

The keeper under whose charge he was advanced 
slowly towards him : 

“Must I set you in motion?” cried he, raising his 
whip. 

“ If you touch me,” screamed Yégor, whose brain was 
in a whirl, “ I will kill you ! ” Then, as if a prey to 
madness, he added: “If you wish, wait — you can 
murder me with blows ! ” 

And he gave the corporal a resounding slap on the 
cheek. 


30 


THE EXILES. 


Yégor expected to be hurled to the ground, to be 
torn to pieces. 

But the convict-guard, strange to relate, stared at 
him fixedly without a word ; then, casting his whip far 
from him, as if to escape the temptation to use it, he 
answered the exile’s insult with these words, uttered in 
a tone of great calmness : 

“ I could crush you in my hands, if I wished to do 
so, but, this time I pardon you ! I accept the chastise- 
ment in expiation of my son’s crimes ! ” 

Fearing, doubtless, that he might say more,^ the 
singular keeper abruptly departed, leaving Yégor 
Séménoff to his unspeakable amazement. 


THE EXILES. 


31 


CHAPTER II. 

THE DAWN OF HOPE. 

HE little town of Nertchinsk had, a short time 



JL before, been greatly excited by the murder of an 
engineer called Major Dobson, the grantee of a piece 
of auriferous ground situated eighteen or twenty kilo- 
mètres from the village. 

This Englishman lived upon the land he operated. 
Thanks to modern improvements in the mining indus- 
try, he had succeeded in obtaining large quantities of 
gold in a spot disdained and abandoned by his pre- 
decessors. 

The Major attracted the assassins more, perhaps, by 
the reputation of originality of character accorded to 
him for thirty leagues around, than by his wealth, 
although that was immense. 

Every morning he went to the place where the steam- 
engine was working, wearing enormous boots drawn 
over three pairs of stockings. He examined the 
machinery attentively; at the least sign of rust, he 
pulled off one of his stockings and rubbed away until 
he had restored the polish : his three pairs of stockings 
were used in this way, and the mechanics, in whose 
faces he hurled them, were obliged to brin^ them back 
to him under penalty of dismissal. 


32 


THE EXILES. 


Contrary to the custom of the majority of the 
grantees, he lived in niggardly fashion and had but one 
servant — an old woman — and it was asserted that, far 
from sending to Barnoul the entire amount of gold he 
mined — for the mines belong to the government and 
all the gold of Siberia is smelted at Barnoul on the 
Obi — he did not fear to purloin large quantities of it 
which he kept concealed. 

One morning, he and his servant were found dead, 
the skulls of both split open with hatchets. 

However, the robbers did not succeed in discovering 
the Major’s supposed hiding-place. They were able to 
steal only a small amount of silver. Major Dobson 
being in the habit of sending the most valuable portion 
of his profits to England. 

Three weeks later, another assassination turned out 
much better for its authors and agitated the entire dis- 
trict of Nertchinsk. 

A Russian from the Crimea, named Khabaroff, pos- 
sessed as grantee a piece of land from which he had 
been unable to get even the smallest morsel of gold, 
though much of the neighboring territory yielded 
superb returns. Then, this man devised the means of 
putting his hand upon some of the precious metal, the 
color of which the government would never see, thus 
depriving the grantees, his prosperous rivals, of com- 
missions to which the results of their operations 
entitled them. 

In his capacity of life proprietor, he had the right to 


THE EXILES. 


33 


keep a liquor shop upon his lauds for the accommoda- 
tion of his workmen, but, as he did not employ a single 
toiler, his spirits were sold to his neighbors’ people at 
the reasonable price of a half pound of gold a bottle. 
Two barrels of brandy, worth at most two hundred and 
fifty francs, brought him in about seven hundred and 
fifty thousand francs. It goes without saying that the 
purchases were paid for so magnificently with the pre- 
cious ore stolen by the gold-hunters. 

Khabaroff was despoiled of a portion of his ill-gotten 
wealth, after having been left for dead upon the public 
square. But, while he was being cared for, his method 
of enriching himself at the expense of the State was 
discovered and misfortune overtook him. 

In consequence of these outrages, the local authori- 
ties zealously set inquiries on foot. Then, it was sud- 
denly discovered that a band of gold-robbers, already 
famous through odious exploits, had made this double 
stroke, and that the son of the Ipravsnik, or Justice of 
the Peace, had for a long time been associated with 
this band. 

Everybody esteemed the Ipravsnik. He was a proud 
and honest Russian named Yermac, a descendant, per- 
haps, of the Cossack who, followed, by his gallant 
companions, conquered Siberia. 

Yermac had been at îfertchinsk for a few years only, 
in disgrace — exiled, in fact. It was said that he had 
filled an important post in the magistracy in Moscow, 
acquiring there a reputation for austerity and incor- 


34 


THE EXILES. 


ruptibility, and pitilessly denouncing the prevarications 
of his colleagues. The latter, uniting, had succeeded 
in undoing him. 

Such a man could not remain indifferent to the too • 
well-founded suspicions in regard to his son. He 
resigned his office, and, as he was not permitted to 
return to Russia and did not desire to make further 
efforts to create an independent and honorable situation 
for himself, he solicited and obtained the position of 
superintendent among the guards of the Oukboul 
mine. Yermac was the keeper whom Yégor Séménoff 
had insulted and struck. No doubt, if he had been 
acquainted with the rectitude of the man of the whip, 
Yégor would have repented of his fury, for he was 
capable of appreciating in others qualities he himself 
possessed in common with them. 

Yégor Séménoff had been exiled for political causes. 
Arrested at Kiefif, where he attended the university, he 
did not know what was his crime. One evening, the 
police, making a descent upon his residence, had seized 
his letters, papers and books and led him to prison. 

Two weeks later, he was hurried over the roads lead- 
ing to Siberia: he had departed for “the land from 
which no one returns.” 

Being a noble, the law spared him the pain of travel- 
ling on foot, a slight amelioration of a punishment 
inflicted in an entirely arbitrary manner. 

By dint of reflection and from a few questions which 
he remembered had been asked him, Yégor felt satisfied 


THE EXILES. 


35 


that he owed the severities of the police to the friend- 
ship which existed between him and the aged poet, 
Abel Davidoff, who had been exiled to Siberia three 
years before. 

Davidoff had been accompanied in his exile by his 
only daughter, Nadège, whose portrait, convict number 
1367 wore upon his breast. 

For him, alas! she was no longer of this world, and 
the little sentimental romance begun between a student 
in his twentieth year and a young girl of sixteen had 
had a sad epilogue ! 

Their destinies, however, seemed to have this in 
common : that she and he, in all probability, would end 
their days far from Kieff. 

Yégor, who, as soon as he had arrived at Oukboul 
had studied the country with the intention of escaping, 
suddenly renounced every enterprise of that kind on 
learning that Davidoff and his daughter resided at 
Irkoutsk. 

Hence he strove to accustom himself to the terrible 
life of a miner, making superhuman efforts to succeed. 
Was it not possible that he also might in time receive 
an amelioration of his lot. He was innocent — guilty 
only of sympathy for certain victims of the Czar’s 
inexorable justice. 

At Omsk, offended by the rough tone of one of the 
officials charged with fixing the place of his sojourn, 
he had answered him haughtily, almost arrogantly. 
This man, whose pride was wounded, had taken a cruel 


36 


THE EXILES. 


joy, at the close of his consultation with his colleagues, 
in announcing to him — calling him “Monsieur,” this 
time — that he was destined to work in the verdigris 
mines at Nertchinsk. Was it not possible that this 
severe decision might be reconsidered? He felt that 
he must arm himself with courage ! 

His squad was working in an interior gallery already 
commenced in the vein. An excavation was being 
made. Two miners struck, turn by turn, upon the 
wedge which a third miner held. In the darkness, the 
flinty rocks emitted sparks beneath the repeated blows 
of the iron. 

There was not sufficient air for respiration ; vitiated 
and rarefied, it was also charged with deleterious dust 
and deadly poisons. When the rock was split, the 
work with the pick-axe began. It was then necessary 
to extend the gallery through soft stone which crum- 
bled to pieces, incessantly threatening to bury the 
toilers beneath falling masses ; and this labor continued 
uninterruptedly for ten hours daily. 

Yégor fell from sheer exhaustion when he reached 
the mouth of the shaft, in the evening, after an ascension 
which lasted nearly two hours. 

He struggled stoutly, but, nevertheless, discourage- 
ment finally took possession of him, fever brought on 
additional weakness and with it came the cortege of 
black ideas. 

Soon he could no longer eat; his brain dried and 
burned, and there was a constant buzzing in his ears. 


THE EXILES. 37 

In this condition, the poor young man was haunted 
by thoughts of suicide ; he repulsed them, at first, as 
he would have repulsed the thought of a great crime, 
but they persistently returned. He grew to think that, 
since he was doomed to death, it mattered but little if 
he hastened the moment a few hours. Was he not free 
from all responsibility ? They were killing him and he 
would go to meet death, that was all ! He, at last, 
resolved to end the slow agony to which he was con- 
demned. 

The method was very easy — it was close at hand. 

He had heard of desperate wretches who had caused 
themselves to be crushed beneath blocks of stone. He 
would follow their example. 

For three days he had been loosening a rock; he 
toiled with redoubled ardor at his perilous task, decided 
to place himself beneath the enormous mass when it 
was about to fall. 

To succeed, he must put forth efforts and exercise a 
firm will for two days longer. A year of his life fied 
at each blow of the pick-axe without shaking his fierce 
resolution — at least, he thought so ; but this obstinate 
work carried on with such a design wore him out. 

One morning, he said to the two men who shared his 
yourte : 

“ I cannot rise ! ” 

One of these men was a Russian political convict, 
transferred from Minousink to Oukboul as an increase 
of punishment; the other a Tungnse brigand, an 


38 


THE EXILES. 


assassin and a robber. Both of them, like Yégor, were 
new comers, and the government had lodged them in 
one of its yourtes until they could get time to build a 
hut. To enable them to live, they had a few kopecks, 
the salary from the grantee of the mine, receiving 
besides from the government thirty kilogrammes of rye 
flour and five francs per month. They could dispose 
according to their liking of one week in four. 

Seeing Yegor so sick his companions carried him to 
the hospital. It was rather a charnel-house. When he 
recovered his senses, about forty-eight hours afterwards, 
he found himself in a wooden barrack arranged like 
the between-decks of a ship. Each cabin contained a 
number of invalids stretched upon shelves, one above 
another, on the bare boards. In the midst of complete 
darkness, those who were least ill assisted those who 
were dying. The air was loaded with putrid emana- 
tions. With the death-rattles were mingled the hollow 
complaints of those struggling with suffering. It was 
horrible. This place of solace bore a closer resem- 
blance to a hall of torture. 

When Yégor had accustomed his eyes to the absence 
of light, he perceived on one of the shelves opposite to 
him two nude corpses in a state of decomposition. He 
was seized with terror and, gliding down from his 
funereal couch, dragged himself into the open air, sud- 
denly recovering strength to pursue to the end of the 
earth the work of suicide. But fate was against him. 
No one had continued his task. 


THE EXILES. 


39 


His last day had come. He was about to go from 
his yourte to the shaft, when M. Nadéïeff, the grantee 
of the mines, who had arrived at Oukboul the day 
before, sent for him. 

The latter had found himself by chance at Omsk, 
when the exile passed through that town, and had 
noticed him when his place of residence was being 
decided upon. He knew from the notes on his pass- 
port that he was acquainted with several languages, 
French, English and German, and that he possessed 
notions of physical and mathematical sciences. Hence 
it seemed to the grantee, who was a cold and positive 
man, ^that he could turn Yégor’s acquirements to a 
better account than by putting a hammer or a wedge 
in his hand at the bottom of a mine. 

M. Nadéïeff was a vigorous and thickset little man, 
with a broad Kalmuck face, sharp and piercing black 
eyes, a flat nose, thick lips, which allowed white and 
solid carnivorous teeth to be seen, and a black beard 
as curly and woolly as the sheepskin cap he wore. 

“It is my principle,” said he to Yegor, “to draw 
from the people I pay the largest possible profit. A 
man like you with a hammer in his hand can only be a 
bad workman. You should know better how to man- 
age a pen.” 

“ I studied at the University of Kieff,” said Yégor. 

“Yes, yes, I know. And I know also that you 
would, perhaps, have become a distinguished engineer, 
if you had not taken it into your head to meddle with 
things that did not concern you.” 


40 


THE EXILES. 


“ But, nevertheless — ” 

“Enough! I am not a judge. lean do only this 
for you: give you easier work, more in accordance 
with your tastes and aptitude, and, at tlie same time, 
more advantageous for me. I wish to write a memoir 
for the Czar, a memoir in which I shall do my best to 
establish that if Siberia, despite the riches of its soil 
and of its mines, is a seat of desolation and want, it is 
because there is a radical error in the system. I have 
need of an able secretary to develop my ideas, and you 
are my man. The captain is notified of your depart- 
ure. To-morrow, one of my coachman will take you 
to Irkoutsk, where you will lodge in one of my houses.” 

Irkoutsk! Oh! how agreeably that name sounded 
in Yégor’s ears. Was it not at Irkoutsk that the in- 
spector of the mines of Nertchinsk had told him 
Davidoff and his daughter resided? What if he 
should recover his old friends ! That would be too 
much good luck at one time and he dare not think of 
it. It was a veritable intervention of providence. 
Irkoutsk ! that was to say far from the mine, far from 
the whip-armed corporal, far from the murderous rock 
already trembling upon its base, and far from suicide. 
Irkoutsk! is a civilized world and the spot where, per- 
haps, lived the poet Davidoff and his daughter Nadège. 

He now blessed his exile that he was about to share, 
perhaps, with the adopted sister whom he loved so 
nobly. His heart leaped, but he was afraid to show 
his joy. M. Nadéïeff might ill-interpret his sentiments 
and change his mind. 


THE EXILES. 


41 


Yégor answered simply: 

“ I am at your orders, Monsieur. All I can do to 
satisfy you shall be done.” 

“Very well. I like people to talk to me in that way. 
To-morrow, at eight o’clock, my coachman will come 
for you with a troïka. I shall not be at Irkoutsk for 
four or five days. You will have time to install your- 
self and rest.” 

3 


42 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER III. 

IRKOUT SK. 

T he morning was fine, though cold. The autumn 
was advancing. Nevertheless, the very few stunted 
and squatty trees, which stood here and there, had pre- 
served all the solid luxury of their sombre foliage, 
which no red or golden fruit relieved. In Siberia, the 
trees produce nothing, not because heat is wanting, 
but because of the extreme rigor of the frosts, which 
damages the roots and destroys the action of the sap. 
The cloudless sky had the limpidity of a lake of azure, 
and huge flocks of wild geese sailed through it like 
white flotillas. 

In the midst of the sad and monotonous plain, the 
road, scarcely marked by the wheels of the vehicles, 
rolled away as far as the eye could reach, animated 
only by the rapid passage of a troïka drawn by three 
draught horses, with grayish white hair, belonging to 
that small and strong Siberian race similar to that of 
Corsica. 

The troïka went the faster as it carried but a single 
traveller, whose light baggage consisted of a leather 
valise. ^ 

This traveller was Yegor Seménoff. 

Since he had breatlied anew the free air, since he had 


THE EXILES. 


43 


again found sunlight and verdure, a resurrection had 
taken place in him. He no longer bent and his eyes 
had recovered their brightness. With glance lost in 
the vague whiteness of the horizon, he thought of the 
past and was not frightened by the future. 

The remembrances of his childhood now thronged 
about him, like a joyous and laughing cortege amid the 
sad and silent solitude. 

He was no longer in Siberia, in exile, but in that old 
manor where he was born and which he never should 
have quitted. He ran with his sister beneath the trees 
of a beautiful park, and on horseback scoured the open 
country with her. Oh! the happy years ! With what 
tenderness he remembered them. What balls, what 
fêtes ! He again saw the parlors brilliantly illumi- 
nated, the stairways full of servants, and the terraces 
encumbered with the long trains of the ladies, who had 
gathered from all the lordly residences of the neigh- 
borhood. 

One day, they danced longer than usual. Yégor’s 
sister had just married a captain of the merchant 
marine of Riga ; the wedding had been celebrated at 
the dwelling of the Séménoffs. 

On the morrow, when his sister departed, Yégor ran 
into the wood and wept. Six months afterwards, he, 
in his turn, quitted the paternal roof to become a 
student at the University of Kieff. 

There he found a second family in that of the poet 
Davidoff, professor of Slavonic literature at the univer- 


44 


THE EXILES. 


sity, and a second sister in the charming Nadège, the 
only daughter of the writer. 

His dreamy thoughts, rocked by the pace of the 
horses, carried him back to that blessed family, to their 
hospitable dwelling, where the youth of the university 
received such a kindly welcome. Each evening, 
reunions took place, at which some literary question 
was discussed, some one read verses, or a musician 
improvised a morceau or played airs from an unpub- 
lished opera. Nadège served the tea; then, in her 
turn, she seated herself at the piano and sang one of 
those popular Russian songs, with words and rhythm 
so melancholy and so sweet. 

One Sunday, this lively and pleasant house suddenly 
found itself empty and deserted. Those who came, 
according to custom, were informed that M. Davidoff 
had departed on a long journey. The truth was that 
the police, rendered uneasy by these reunions, had 
become alarmed at them, and that the aged poet, 
suspected of belonging to the advanced liberal party, 
had been arrested between two and three o’clock in 
the morning and sent to Siberia by a simple adminis- 
trative measure. In consideration of his years, they 
had permitted his daughter, whom he adored and 
separation from whom would have killed him, to 
accompany him in his exile. 

This dolorous event filled Yégor with unspeakable 
grief. 

The reunions of the poet’s friends, however, were 


THE EXILES. 


45 


not interrupted; Yégor offered to hold them at his 
house. Three years afterwards he was arrested, in his 
turn, and, without trial, without sentence, was sent, 
like Davidoff, to Siberia. 

These last remembrances recalled to him all his 
sufferings since the night he had been torn from his 
bed, thrown into a dungeon and afterwards dragged, 
for nearly three months, with irons on his legs, in a 
kibitka, over the long and cruel road of exile ! 

At last, his lot had received a sudden and unhoped- 
for amelioration. It was almost liberty that had been 
given to him by the grantee of the mines, M. Nadéïeff. 

“If I should find,” murmured Yégor, “Davidoff and 
his daughter alive — really residing at Irkoutsk I Alas ! 
perhaps, they have died from bad treatment, fatigue 
and privation !” 

This thought froze his heart — he had such an ardent 
desire to see his old friends again ! He would so like 
to devote himself to them, make their life easier, and 
bestow upon them words of consolation and hope. 

He adroitly questioned the coachman : 

“ Have you ever heard tell, at Irkoutsk, of an exile 
by the name of Davidoff?” asked he. 

“ In the first place, I don’t know any vernak (exile) 
either there or elsewhere,” answered the coachman, 
who probably wished to say nothing. 

The third day, after two nights passed in the troïka 
where he had scarcely been able to sleep, Yégor per- 
ceived, lighted up by the rays of the setting sun, the 


46 


THE EXILES. 


tall belfrys, the round cupolas, the white minarets and 
the greenish domes of Irkoutsk. He could not keep 
back an exclamation of joy. 

Situated upon one of the high backs of the Angara, 
the waters of which sparkled with a thousand spangles, 
and impregnated with the dazzling light of sunset 
which gave it a back ground of Byzantine gold, the 
capital of eastern Siberia appeared to the e?;ile with the 
marvellous fascinations of the mirage. 

His delighted eyes followed the long line of embattled 
walls which defend the city ; they were arrested by the 
tall crosses of pierced iron with which the cupolas of 
the Greek churches are surmounted, and, then, falling 
upon the houses grouped in black or white knots, 
seemed to be searching for the roof under which 
Davidoff and his daughter had found shelter. 

The troïka crossed the Angara on a wooden bridge, 
entered the city through a gate guarded by Cossacks, 
and traversed a large public square surrounded by 
important buildings, which differed in nothing from 
those of the large towns of Russia. 

Irkoutsk, which has now about thirty-five thousand 
inhabitants, is the residence of a governor general, who 
exercises authority over a country ten times larger than 
France. 

The importance of this, city has been increased by 
the acquisitions Russia has recently made upon the 
Amoor. Certain traders of the country are enormously 
rich. Their luxurious dwellings, furnished with all the 


THE EXILES. 


47 


comfort and refinement of Parisian life, contain green- 
houses, the tropical plants of which were transported 
at great expense from Europe across the steppes of 
Siberia. 

Nothing seems too dear to these prodigal people, 
who appreciate things only from the price they cost. 
More pâtés de foie-gras and champagne are consumed 
in Irkoutsk, upon the borders of the savage world, 
than in the towns of France. “ France produces the 
wines, and Siberia drinks them ” says a local proverb. 

Yégor was surprised as he passed the bazar, where 
Europe and Asia mingle their most precious products : 
Lyons silks and cashmeres from Thibet, French porce- 
lain and China porcelain, Paris dolls and playthings 
from Japan, English knives and Geneva music-boxes, 
Russian balalaikas and Chinese gongs, petroleum 
lamps. and little lamps of horn, etc. 

Mantchoo merchants, in sky-blue robes or wadded 
jackets, wearing on their heads the little skull-caps 
to which are attached the false twists which descend 
to their heels, with great spectacles across their 
turned-up noses, stood behind piles of chests of tea, 
holding their fingers with pointed nails over chafing- 
dishes which emitted the perfume of sandal-wood. 

Jews, in greasy caftans ornamented with a collar of 
short fur, with Astrakhan caps pulled down over their 
foreheads and with pointed beards, motionless before 
their stocks of furs and skins, fixed their round hawk’s 
eyes on those who passed. 


48 


THE EXILES. 


Booriat chiefs, belonging to a nomadic race living on 
the steppes which surround Lake Baikal, were seated, 
with legs crossed in the Buddhist fashion, before 
enormous bales of wool transported by rafts on the 
Angara. 

Around the bazar were erected actor’s huts and bar- 
racks of rope-dancers and sharpers. As it crossed the 
vast square, which is fifteen hundred feet long, the 
troïka encountered French, English and native vehicles. 

On quitting the square of the bazar, the troïka left 
the fashionable quarter, with streets furnished with 
pavements and macadamized, to plunge into the lanes 
crowded with miserable wooden houses and furrowed 
with gutters and deep ruts. In all Russian towns, as a 
rule, where everything which approaches civilization is 
of recent importation, the palace and wooden cabin 
stand side by side. 

It is in this dirty, repulsive and dilapidated part of 
the city, in these melancholy cross-roads where a prison 
light reigns, that the wretches, whom the clemency of 
Muscovite justice has drawn from the depths of the 
mines, where they were slowly dying, dwell. 

Left to their own resources, the exiles carry on small 
industries and low-grade trades to obtain a livelihood. 
Former generals become joiners or shoemakers, journal- 
ists sink into wigmakers, and doctors of law into 
merchants of zibelline marten fur. 

Yégor, as he passed through this quarter of misfor- 
tune and poverty, attentively examined each door and 


THE EXILES. 


49 


window, hoping to see arise there the graceful head of 
Nadège, with its aureole of flaxen hair. But the 
troïka stopped before one of the last huts of the 
suburb without the young man’s hopes being realized. 

“ It is here,” said the coachman, “ that my master 
bade me conduct you.” 

And he aided Yégor Séménoff in carrying his valise 
into the cabin. Then, he returned to the troïka and 
disappeared. 


50 


THE EXIIiES. 


CHAPTER IV. 
davidoff’s death. 

Y egor had recovered all his energy. Very easily 
impressed, like all the Slavonians, he passed sud- 
denly from one extreme to the other. Though he had 
been terribly discouraged a few days before, he now 
felt himself strong again, ready to struggle furiously 
against fate and resolved to continue the battle of life 
to the end. 

Without even examining his domicile, he returned to 
the street, stopped the first passer-by and asked him if 
he knew in Irkoutsk an exile by the name of Davidoff. 
“ Davidoff? ” 

“ The poet,” added Yégor, quickly. 

“Davidoff! the name sounds familiar to me. But 
question Issakoff, the innkeeper, who resides at the 
extremity of the suburb ; he has good reason to know 
everybody, for he gives credit ! ” 

“I thank you,” said Yegor. And he started off 
rapidly. 

The Jew Issakoff informed him that Davidoff and his 
daughter dwelt in a little hamlet in the environs of the 
city. 

“I am a good walker,” said Yégor; “how long will 
it take me to reach their house ? ” 


THE EXILES. 


51 


“ Twenty minutes.” 

But night had come on, and it was difficult for a 
stranger to find his way. Yégor, therefore, begged the 
innkeeper to procure him a guide, as he wished to see 
Davidoff and his daughter at once. 

“ Ah ! if you were the bearer of his pardon, you 
would be doing a good action!” cried Issakoff, “the 
poor man is not long for this world ! The announce- 
ment of his pardon would give him new life.” 

Yegor anxiously demanded some explanations in 
regard to the condition of the unfortunate exile, 
but the innkeeper limited himself to replying iii 
monosyllables : 

“ Banishment ! — want ! — such things kill I ” 

One of Issakoff ’s sons, who served at the inn, accom- 
panied Yégor. 

At the gate of the city, they informed the sentinels 
whither they were going, and made their exit without 
being disturbed. 

The sky sparkled with stars. In the country sleep 
already reigned. Behind them, around the sombre 
walls of Irkoutsk, the Angara resembled a fiow of fused 
silver. They reached the hamlet, consisting of a long 
street of dilapidated little wooden houses, the roofs of 
which with their broken gables had the look of fantas- 
tic jaws. Here and there, a stray light shone through 
the sheets of oiled paper which replaced the panes of 
ghiss in the windows. There was not a sound. Every- 
where the silence of death. One might have believed 


52 


THE EXILES. 


himself in the midst of a cemetery at the hour when 
the will-o’-the-wisp dances upon the tombs. 

. The innkeeper’s son showed Yégor an isba of a still 
more melancholy appearance than any of the rest ; he 
extended his hand for his drink-money and retraced 
his steps. 

Yégor, with sad heart, stood breathless and motion- 
less before the door, without daring to knock. 

At last, he tapped gently with his stick. 

The door opened. 

Upon the threshold appeared a young girl, clad in 
the costume of a Siberian peasant: a small corsage 
held by a crossed strap over a white body with puffed 
sleeves, and a skirt of red serge. 

Yégor sprang towards her. 

“ Nadège ! ” cried he, “ do you recognize me ? ” 

She drew back, frightened; but, the sound of his 
voice had found such an echo in her heart that she 
returned to the young man. She examined him for an 
instant, exclaimed “Yégor! ” and fell into his arms. 

Then, taking him by the hand, she led him into the 
second apartment of the isba, in the centre of which 
was seated, upon a rough stool, a pale old man, with 
white hair and beard, dressed also in the costume of a 
Siberian peasant: a long caftan tied about the waist 
with a red sash, and green boots. 

“Yégor! Yégor Séménoff! ” cried Nadège, conduct- 
ing the visitor to the old man. 

“ Yes, father, it is I,” said Yégor, embracing Davidoff. 


THE EXILES. 


53 


“ You I what brings you here ? ” 

Yégor hesitated to reply. 

“ Banishment,” said he finally. 

“ He also ! ” said the aged poet, as if talking to him- 
self. “ Ah ! poor child ! ” 

Yégor was forced to tell him in detail of his arrest, 
how he had been sent to the copper and verdigris mines 
of Nertchinsk, and how, by chance, M. Nadéïeff, the 
grantee of the mines, having need of a secretary, had 
taken him into his service. 

“Father, why do you not look at me? ” said Yégor, 
at last, seeing that the old man kept his eyes per- 
sistently closed. 

“ Look at you ? I am blind, my son ! ” said the latter. 

“ But I see you all the same, here I ” and he laid his 
hand upon his heart. 

They spoke for a long while of their native land and 
of the sufferings endured upon the soil of exile. 
Davidoff described to Yegor his journey with his 
daughter, in a sledge, through the snow, during which 
all their nights were sleepless. It was in consequence 
of the fatigue then endured that his eyes had become 
weak and he had lost his sight. 

Yégor visited the house of his friends on the morrow 
and every day thereafter. 

He found Nadège seated at her spinning-wheel, like 
a genuine peasant girl, or engaged in preparing the 
meal. A young child of thirteen years, Ladislas, the son 
of a Pole who had died in exile, aided Nadège in her. 


54 


THE EXILES. 


domestic toils. Thanks to his ingenuous and charming 
character, the little orphan succeeded in softening the 
sad lot of those who had adopted him. 

M. Nadéïeff had returned to Irkoutsk, and Yégor 
had worked for several weeks under his direction. The 
grantee of the Nertchinsk mines was greatly pleased 
with his secretaiy and allowed him the utmost liberty. 
Not a day passed that Yégor did not visit his venerable 
friend and his family. Unhappily, Davidoff’s strength 
failed visibly ; they saw him dying, as dies the flame of 
a lamp that has no more oil. 

One evening, Yégor found Nadège and Ladislas in 
tears: the old man, stretched upon his bed, could 
scarcely breathe. They made him swallow a few drops 
of brandy; a salutary effect seemed to be produced, 
but it was only momentary. His pulse diminished, 
black circles surrounded his eyes and his lips grew 
white. 

“ Well, father ? ” said Yégor, taking a seat beside him. 

Davidoff slowly turned his pale, thin face, strove to 
open his eyelids, as if he could still see, and uttered a 
few incomprehensible words. 

Aided by Nadège, Yégor endeavored to lift up the . 
old man, whose body was already stiff. 

His lips moved anew; he had recognized Yégor’s 
voice talking to Nadège and directing little Ladislas do 
run for a physician. 

“That is better, I thank you,” muttered he. “We 
have arrived at Kieff, have we not? Oh ! how long the 
journey has been ! ” 


THE EXILES. 


55 


He was delirious. 

He delivered an address to his former pupils, speak- 
ing to them of Russia’s future and the triumph of 
liberty. 

Yégor and Nadège held each other’s hands and wept. 

At last, the physician arrived. He was also an exile 
— a resident doctor in a military hospital of St. Peters- 
burg, banished for having circulated prohibited pam- 
phlets. 

The dying man had sunk into a lethargy of bad 
omen. His respiration, growing shorter and more pain- 
ful, produced a sound similar to a stifled hissing. 

The physician felt his pulse and listened to the 
beating of his heart; then he departed, whispering in 
Yègor’s ear : 

“ He will not last through the night.” 

About eleven o’clock, Davidoff recovered from the 
lethargy into which he had again fallen. Yegor raised 
him and gave him a little brand}^, saying : 

“Drink this, father; it will do you good.” 

The old man drank as obediently as a child. 

Then, his hands came out from under the coverings 
and began to search for something in space. They 
encountered Yégor’s hand. The old man seized it 
eagerly, and held it. Then he said, in a low voice : 

“Nadège, your hand!” And having taken it, he 
placed it in that of the young man and added : “ Yégor, 
I confide Nadège to you. Be a father and protector to 
her. Swear to me that you will never abandon her ! ” 


56 


THE EXILES. 


“I swear it!” said Yégor, in a voice choked with 
tears. 

“ Will you marry her ? ” asked the dying man. 

“I will!” answered Yegor. 

“ Ah ! my daughter ! your father can now die tran- 
quilly ! ” 

He fell back heavily upon the pillow, as if this last 
effort had killed him. 

Nadège uttered a heart-rending cry and threw herself 
upon her father. She kissed him, amid a flow of 
endearing language, and smiled at him through her 
tears, as if he could see her. 

Davidoff was dead. But the expression of his face 
was so calm and peaceful that he appeared to have 
fallen asleep, solaced. 

The exile’s sufferings were over ! 


THE EXILES. 


57 


CHAPTER V. 

THE CHIEF OP POLICE. 

T he death of her father taught Nadège how much 
help little Ladislas was to her. 

The child strove to assuage her deep affliction, he 
devised means to aid her in the thousand difflcult things 
attending a life of banishment. The care he required, 
in his turn, took the orphan’s attention from her grief. 

Yégor, thanks to the influence of M. Nadéïeff, was 
soon enabled to establish himself in the little hamlet 
where Nadège and Ladislas lived. He lodged with 
some political exiles of noble birth, stricken for that 
reason with greater severity. They occupied a cabin 
opposite to that in which Davidoff had passed the last 
years of his life. 

Every hour not demanded by the employment given 
him by the grantee of the mines, Yégor consecrated to 
his betrothed, who was also assisted on many occasions 
by the wives and daughters of the exiles in the vicinity. 

“ What a terrible promise I have made to Nadège ’s 
father Î ” he often said to himself, in terror. 

No exile in Siberia can marry save with the Czar’s 
permission. Formerly, if children sprang from such 
marriages, they became serfs of the crown. If the 
condemned man received his pardon, if he were 
4 


58 


THE E X I L 1 : !S . 


included in an amnesty, his offspring did not partici- 
pate in the benefits but remained serfs. The ukase of 
1861 , relative to the abolition of serfdom, somewhat 
modified this deplorable condition of affairs. But 
could Yégor soon fulfil the engagement made at 
Davidoff’s deathbed ? 

The future frightened him. 

“If you are willing,” said he, at last, to Nadège, 
“ we will postpone our union until it. can be celebrated 
upon a free soil.” 

“ I am willing,” answered the young girl, blushing. 
“ But do you hope to regain your liberty ? ” 

“Yes — by flight — my liberty and yours.” 

“ Give the word and I will follow you,” said 
Davidoff’s daughter. 

Then Yégor felt himself stronger. He admitted to 
his betrothed that, when he set foot on Siberian soil, he 
was already thinking of the means by which to escape 
from the odious punishment which had overtaken him. 
If he wished to be free when he thought her dead to 
him, what would he not do now to be worthy of her ? 
He did not wish her to become the wife of a convict. 

From that moment, Yégor began to study the 
chances offered by the various modes of escape. He 
adroitly questioned the hunters and merchants whom 
he met in the tea shops of the bazar, addressing by 
preference men who had been to the frontiers of China 
or Kamtchatka, in the country of the Tchouktchis, for 
he could not tliink of going towards either the west or 
the north-west. 


THE EXILES. 


59 


The frontier touched, so to speak, the gates of the 
capital of the province. The town of Kiakhta can be 
reached in three or four days by sledge in winter, and 
there China begins. But could Yegor expose the weak 
Nadège and little Ladislas to the perils incident to the 
crossing of the horrible solitudes of the Desert of 
Gobi ? To put themselves in the hands of the Chinese 
authorities would be to subject themselves to cruel 
treatment and, finally, extradition. 

He thought that it would be less dangerous to go to 
the Sea of Okhotsk, that is to say the Pacific Ocean, 
following the banks of Lake Baikal and skirting the 
Yablonvi mountain chain, afterwards descending the 
Lena to its mouth, ascending that rivej to its source 
and, finally, crossing the Stanovoi* Mountains. Once 
at Oudsko'i, on the shores af the Sea of Okhotsk, they 
could reach a ship bearing the French, English, or 
American flag. 

He adopted this last plan. In spite of all, he no 
longer recoiled, neither for himself, Nadège, nor little 
Ladislas whom he could not abandon, from the terrible 
difficulties that he would encounter in crossing im- 
mense tracts of country, avoiding habitations and even 
keeping away from roads when there were traces of 
any. 

In the evening, when Ladislas was asleep, the young 
people spoke in low tones of their projects and, going 
beyond, into their future, Yégor pointed out to Nadège, 
upon a small map he had drawn, the route to be 


60 


THE EXILES. 


followed and explained to her the difficulties to be 
overcome. 

Far from offering any objection, she replied to every- 
thing : 

“ I am ready to follow you.” 

Suddenly an incident happened which annihilated all 
their hopes. 

One evening, Nadège saw her betrothed arrive with 
a troubled face. 

“ All is lost ! ” cried he, as he entered. 

“ Have they discovered our plans ? ” asked the young 
girl. 

“No; but an unexpected accident has reduced them 
to nothing,” said Yègor, dropping overwhelmed upon 
the bench which extended along the deal' partition. 

“ Perhaps you exaggerate things,” said Nadège. 

“Judge for yourself,” responded Yègor. “The 
governor of Yakoutsk has been here, as you know, for 
several days, on a visit to his colleague of eastern 
Siberia. This morning, he had occasion to converse 
with me in M. Nadéïeff’s offices. What could I have 
done to give him such a high idea of my capacity? 
After his departure, M. Nadeieff told me that, struck 
with my intelligence and numerous talents, he had 
asked him to assign me to him.” 

“And M. Nadéïff?” 

“He could not refuse so powerful a personage, 
although, as he assures me, he strongly regrets losing 
his secretary. Ah! the statement for the Czar is 


THE EXILES. 


G1 


finished ! My consent has not been asked, you may be 
sure of that, and I am ordered to attend to the little 
formality at the chancellor’s office necessary on chang- 
ing my proprietor.” 

“You must strive to gain time,” said Nadège; “you 
must speak of the authorization to marry which we 
expect.” 

“ I have done so, but in vain. I was forced to limit 
myself to soliciting the favor of taking you and little 
Ladislas with me.” 

“ But what will the governor say ? Can he not be 
brought over to our interests ? Can he not be induced 
to keep you near him, since he is friendly towards 
you ? ” 

“The governor-general,” replied Yégor, “has already 
given his full consent.” 

It was a terrible blow, but it could not be avoided. 
The young people were obliged to charge one of their 
new friends with selling Davidoff’s little house and 
certain articles of furniture difficult of transportation. 

A few days afterwards, they set out in the suite of 
the governor of Yakoutsk, without forgetting Wab, a 
beautiful brown dog born in the Himalaya Mountains, 
which bore the name of its race and had been given to 
Yégor upon his arrival at Irkoutsk. 

They were to travel more than six hundred leagues 
in bitter weather, partly in light vehicles and partly on 
a provosok, a large flat bottomed boat, upon the Lena, 
which already was carrying along with it its first ice. 


62 


THE EXILES. 


The night began at this time of the year at three 
o’clock in the afternoon, and the journey would last 
more than a month. 

At length, the high functionary and those whom he 
already called his protégés reached Yakoutsk. 

The first person whom Yégor perceived in this 
thoroughly oriental town, where he thought he would 
find no known countenance, was M. Lafleur, tlie 
dancing- master, with his pocket violin — M. Lafleur, 
rosy and fresh as his name, always smiling, always 
polished and always frisking about like the true dan- 
cing-master he was. 

To see him, clad in his swallow-tail coat, tolerably out 
of fashion, with brass buttons, in his white cravat, with 
his legs as thin as his bow thrust into tight pantaloons 
of pearl -gray somewhat faded, and wearing pumps 
which shone like varnish, one might have thought that 
he ran hastily over all Siberia to give his instruction in 
the Tepsichorean art, and was not frightened by a few 
thousand versts between one lesson and another. The 
fact is that his life was something of that sort. 

He was perfectly at home in Irkoutsk. Some years 
before he had brought his wife there ; she was a Pari- 
sian, like himself, and made hats for the ladies of the 
place until the phthisic carried her off. The work- 
room, however, remained open under the intermittent 
direction of the dancing-master. 

M. Lafleur, a man as universal as cosmopolitan, 
added to the sacred art of the dance and to his talent 


THE EXILES. 


63 


as a man milliner the manufacture of champagne — 
which foamed and sparkled — with the fresh sap of the 
birch tree, and, besides, traded in furs, small articles of 
glassware and bricks of tea. But his true vocation 
was to shine from afar and civilize the natives with the 
sound of his violin. 

Not to deprive M. Lafleur of anything that was his 
due, let us add that, having once been an herbalist and 
well instructed in the natural sciences, he was gather- 
ing the elements of a collection of plants, fossils and 
minerals, which he proposed to offer to the town of 
Chateau - Thierry, the ‘‘cradle of his family,” as he 
somewhat emphatically called it, where he had formerly 
passed his holidays and where it was his dream to finish 
his life in ease and consideration — thanks to the roubles 
amassed in a foreign country and the renown which 
his collection, unique in ils way, would bring him. 

“Ah ! ” cried he, on perceiving Yegor, “that eternal 
Hades of a mine was a purgatory for you, was it not ? 
And now I see you in paradise, escorted by angels,” 
added he, bowing gallantly to Nadège and tapping the 
rosy cheek of* Ladislas. 

“ It is as you say, Monsieur Lafleur ! ” answered 
Yégor, cordially grasping his hand. 

M. Lafleur, with the French warmth and old- 
fashioned courtesy which characterized him, placed 
himself at once at the disposal of the travellers. 

The jovial Parisian seemed very happy to hear of 
the amelioration of the lot of the young man, whose 


64 


THE EXILES. 


pensive and honest countenance had immediately 
gained his sympathy when he met him, for the first 
time, wrapped in his convict’s cloak. David off’s 
daughter, when he learned the history of her devotion, 
interested him strongly, and he conceived great friend- 
ship for little Ladislas. 

‘‘I am attached to the governor’s chancery,” said 
Yegor, thanking him for his offers. “I accept all 
your services in the hope of being, in my turn, useful 
to you some day.” 

“ It is for the best ! ” cried M. Lafleur. “ You have 
done well to come here. Already I can flatter myself 
that I am in the good graces of the governor-general’s 
wife, a tall, thin woman, with whom I get along very, 
very well. She patronizes me. I make her loves of 
Parisian hats and furnish her with champagne of my 
manufacture for the soirees to which the natives are 
invited — provided it foams. There are the two young 
ladies, also, who embellish with their presence this 
inhospitable country. You shall see them ! The 
elder, Agraféna, is a wilful, daring girl, with a healthy 
complexion and somewhat masculine beauty. The 
younger — I call her ‘Miss’ Eléna — pleases me more. 
She is a genuine little English lass of eighteen, lan- 
guishing but a glutton ! — notwithstanding, she is very 
pretty. These girls, besides, rule the governor despoti- 
cally. But let me pass from gentleness to the most 
repulsive ugliness : the escaped robber, whom we saw 
at Oukboul — ” 


THE EXILES. 


65 


“Tes,” interrupted Yégor; “the wretch who fur- 
nished you the occasion to show me your kind heart — 
well, what of him ? ” 

“Well, he parted company with the two gendarmes 
who were taking him to the fortress of Akatouïa. He 
threw himself into the forests, and was not recaptured, 
this time.” 

“ Poor soul ! ” exclaimed the exile ; “ he must have 
died of want ! ” 

“Anything is better than the fortress,” said the 
dancing-master, — “ anything ! ” 

Conducted by M. Lafleur, Yégor hired a little 
wooden house, the last one of the town on the shore 
of the Lena, the only one, perhaps, which was not 
surrounded by those palisades of planks driven into 
the ground, which give an air so devoid of sociability 
to the habitations of Yakoutsk. The new secretary of 
the governor had some partitions hastily put up in it, 
in order to provide a suitable apartment with an alcove 
for Nadège and a little room for the child. 

The installation was rapidly made. In Siberia beds 
are unknown. People sleep on a heap of skins or 
carpets and cover themselves with the same materials. 
In the matter of furniture, the young people, with 
their fixed idea of escaping on the first occasion, 
limited themselves to strict necessity. 

It was then the middle of November; the days had 
only three hours of sun and two hours of twilight, 
with the prospect of seeing the sun vanish altogether 


66 


THE EXILE. 


during December and January, giving place to a night 
which seems eternal. As far as the eye could reach 
the ground was hidden beneath a winding-sheet of 
snow. And it was thus for many months ! 

Sometimes, this thick snow heaped itself up mena- 
cingly against the houses, rolling over upon the roofs 
and breaking them in. A violent wind, in its turn, 
accomplished its ravages. The centigrade thermometer 
descended below thirty degrees, below even forty 
degrees. 

M. Lafleur came in a sledge to visit his new friends. 

“ Brou ! ” uttered he, ridding himself of his furs. 
“ Happily, wood is not wanting in this miserable coun- 
try ! And to think that the natives are in the midst 
of this snow, as in a mass of wadding ! How do you 
think they live? They pursue, in the night which 
surrounds us, the zibellines, to pay the Czar’s tax, the 
reindeer, the foxes of all colors and the bears. They 
fish in summer and hunt in winter.” 

“ Ah ! ” murmured Nadège, “ when shall we again 
see spring ! ” 

“Spring, Mademoiselle?” said the dancing-master; 
“ It is here much harder and much more disagreeable 
than winter. People sometimes sink up to the breast 
in the moist soil, which is mixed with a kind of white 
marmalade.” 

The life led by Yégor in the governor’s family would 
have been supportable, in spite of all, had it not been 
for his cares of the future and his thwarted projects of 


THE EXILES. 67 

liberation which required those precious instants he 
was forced to lose. 

He filled the album of the governor general’s wife 
with caricatures, sketches and colored designs, executed 
quadrilles upon the young ladies’ piano, played chess 
with the governor, invented charades, and organized 
dancing-parties to which the few ladies of Yakoutsk 
were invited. All this for a hundred roubles a month. 

M. Lafleur was at all these little parties given by 
the governor. At these reunions the dancing-master 
resumed all his advantages. Nothing was more comical 
than to see him regulate the movements of the Sibé- 
rienne ” with the delicate sounds of his pocket violin, 
interrupted during certain steps the time for which he 
beat himself, supplying in these intervals with his voice 
the missing music of the instrument. 

On such occasions he assumed the noble attitudes of 
the old French school, which had reached him by one 
knew not what traditions ; then, suddenly, shaking 
himself, loosening his joints and twisting himself, he 
mingled the free and easy movements of the balls of 
the barrières of Paris with the classic rigidity of the 
dances of the old-time court. 

Yégor, finally, obtained, to his great joy, permission 
to hunt with the governor’s guns. He had bought 
secretly at Irkoutsk, at the moment of his departure, a 
double-barreled carabine and a pair of revolvers ; but 
these weapons remained carefully hidden. 

The chase would give him an opportunity to study 


68 ' 


THE EXILES. 


the region. He made many excursions during the 
winter, and was even accompanied, once or twice, by 
Mile. Agrafena, with a few Cossacks as escort. 

He sometimes quitted the town with a sledge drawn 
by horses, and remained away three days, in order to 
accustom the governor to prolonged absences. 

Yégor was treated with affability by the governor 
and all his family. Notwithstanding, he never took 
Nadège to the government palace. He asserted that 
the young girl suffered from weakness to justify her 
seclusion. 

One spring morning, Yegor, at an early hour, had 
started with his sledge over the softened snow. Dri- 
ving himself, he was proceeding, as fast as two good 
horses of the country could go, along the great western 
highway, when he met another sledge in which was a 
traveller carefully enveloped in furs, in whom Yégor 
thought he recognized the man of the whip of the 
Oukboul mine, the corporal whom he had struck and 
defied. Such a meeting m this spot was passably 
strange! ' What strengthened Yégor in his supposition, 
almost inadmissible, however, was an involuntary 
movement he surprised. He could not doubt that this 
man was the Russian, Yermac. 

It was he, in fact. Yégor knew it with certainty 
that very day. 

Yermac had been relieved of his vow of expiation 
and humiliation. The governor of western Siberia, 
when he learned the motives for the resignation of the 


THE EXILES. 


69 


Ipravsnik of Nertchinsk and was informed of his 
entrance into the service of the mines, resolved to 
induce the honest functionary to reconsider his deter- 
mination. He fell to work and succeeded in over- 
coming his obstinate resistance and excessive scruples. 
At last, Yermac yielded; but he made a condition, 
namely, that he should leave the district. General 

K gave him a letter of recommendation to the 

governor of Yakoutsk and enabled him to go to him. 

On the day succeeding this meeting, Yégor saw the 
ex-guard enter the governor’s office. An instant after- 
wards, the latter summoned his secretary. 

“Monsieur Séménoff,” said he, “this is our new 
chief of police, M. Yermac; aid him in taking posses- 
sion of his post. M. Yermac, however, has been long 
in the administration and has no apprenticeship to 
undergo.” 

The governor noticed the constrained air of the two 
men, the smiles of irony upon their lips, and their 
strange glances. 

“Perhaps you know each other already?” said he. 

“ Your Excellency is not deceived,” replied the new 
chief of police. “ ‘ Monsieur ’ seems greatly surprised 
to see me again here.” 

“ After having left you with the convicts at Ouk- 
boul ; yes, I admit it,” said Yégor. 

“Ah! very well. I see how it is!” exclaimed the 
governor. 

“But,” resumed Yermac, “I beg ‘Monsieur’ to 


70 


THE EXILES. 


believe that the chief of police of Yakoutsk has left 
at the bottom of the mine the remembrance of the 
sometimes rigorous relations of the Oukboul guard 
with the convicts placed under his surveillance.” And 
he added, with emphasis : “ I never remember but 

one thing — the strict accomplishment of my duty.” 

“I extend to you my compliments, Monsieur,” 
answered Yégor, “and regret that the somewhat 
haughty fashion in which you have spoken forbids me 
to thank you personally.” 

“Very well. Messieurs, very well,” interrupted the 
governor, who feared that the words exchanged might 
become bitter. “ You will have leisure to renew your 
acquaintance under different and, above all, better 
conditions.” 

These words cut short a sort of presentation deprived 
of all cordiality. 

Yégor saw in the presence of the former corporal of 
the mines another obstacle to his projects. 

“This Yermac,” thought he, “cannot have com- 
pletely forgotten the affront I put upon him. Should 
he find occasion to avenge himself while executing his 
duty, he will seize upon it ; he is an attentive observer 
capable of making an excellent police bloodhound. 
He will watch me closely.” 

Something, a secret presentiment, told him to 
beware of this fatal man. 


THE EXILES. 


71 


CHAPTER VI. 

THE ESCAPE. 

S UMMER came, the fair season opened, and the 
merchants of Irkoutsk brought stuffs, utensils and 
tea, while from the shores of the Arctic Ocean, from the 
borders of the Sea of Okhotsk and even from Kamt- 
chatka came fur -hunters loaded with spoils and 
searchers for the tusks of the walrus and mammoth. 

Yégor Sémdnoff took advantage of the opportunity 
offered to purchase provisions and garments indispen- 
sable to the execution of his project. 

But, though he acted with the utmost prudence, the 
chief of police Yermac, who watched all his actions 
with the evident desire of taking him in fault, knew 
that the governor’s secretary had made considerable 
purchases. 

Further, the authorization of marriage demanded of 
the Czar had arrived and had passed through the hands 
of the chief of police, who could not comprehend why 
the young couple did not hasten to profit by it. What 
could be their motive except to free themselves by 
flight? The former Ipravsnik of Nertchinsk well 
knew the repugnance felt by the exiles for contracting 
these marriages which bind the future of the children 
they may have. His attention redoubled and took the 
cliaracter of veritable surveillance. 


72 


THE EXILES. 


Yégor did not confine himself to procuring what 
could assure materially the success of his attempt. He 
studied minutely all the maps of the couutry he could 
procure, questioned the merchants and hunters, and 
learned the language of the natives. At last, he found 
himself prepared to adopt the following plan : 

Furnished with a passport from the governor for 
himself and his betrothed, he could, at the commence- 
ment of the journey, take advantage of the relays of 
horses established upon the right bank of the Lena as 
far as the spot where the Aldan flows into the great 
Siberian river. At Aldanskoï, a town situated at the 
mouth of the Aldan, he would And horses purchased by 
M. Lafleur, and a Yakoute guide, selected by the same 
M. Lafleur, whose kindness was inexhaustible. 

The Parisian, in his hatred of tyranny of every kind, 
had placed himself entirely at Yegor’s disposal. He 
was to go on before, in the little cart serving to trans- 
port the merchandise in which he dealt. Besides the 
camp tent, the provisions and the winter garments, he 
was to take the little Pole. They could leave Yakoutsk 
without exciting the least suspicion — such was their 
belief at any rate. 

M. Lafleur would accompany the fugitives to the 
Verkho-Yansk Mountains. This chain of mountains 
crossed, the exiles were to hide in one of the impene- 
trable forests which cover the region beyond, there 
to await the first snows. 

They counted upon winter as an auxiliary to level 


THE EXILES. 


73 


the roads, freeze the rivers and cover their flight with 
its darkness. It was only with a sledge that it was 
possible for them to go towards the north as far as 
Nijni-Kolimsk, the last Russian town, situated at the 
point where the Kolima pours the tribute of its waters 
into the .Arctic Ocean, and not far from the polar 
regions where the immortal Nordenskiold was able to 
confirm his discovery of the north-east passage. 

According to the calculations of Yégor Séménoff, 
tliey could hope, with the favor of the long winter 
* night, to penetrate to the country of the Tchoukchis. 
Although the tribes of these natives are not equally 
hospitable, Yégor did not shrink from the difficulties 
he might encounter when this moment should come ; 
nothing could ever approach the infamous life of a con- 
vict from which he was escaping. 

Among th^Tclioukchis it was already liberation; it 
would only remain to find the means of reaching 
Behring’s Strait, on the return of the summer season 
and of the free waters, which bring yearly into that 
locality American and English whalers. 

The interesting daughter of the poet Davidoff, in 
whose eyes Yégor assumed unnatural proportions, drew 
from her chaste love all the stimulants capable of 
increasing the ardor of the man who was about to expose 
his life for her, wishing to relieve her from the shame 
of being an exile’s daughter. She could not forget 
that Yégor, thanks to the favor he enjoyed with the 
governor, had ameliorated and rendered supportable 
5 


74 


THE EXILES. 


her situation, and that it was, above all, to fulfil the 
sacred promise made to the dying old poet that he 
aspired to liberty. 

Yegor already caught a glimpse of that liberty. 

But beside this seductive prospect, what terrible 
punishment in case of failure, what dolorous expiation ! 
Yégor, in his moments of weakness, remembered the 
convict disfigured with sulphuric acid whom he had 
seen on arriving at the Oukboul mines, exposed to every 
kind of insulting treatment. What fate, if he failed, 
was he preparing for poor Nadège and little Ladislas ? 
For himself an ignominious death and for them a 
prison, that is to say, death also, slower but as sure ! 

At last, he could hesitate no longer. 

One evening in the early part of September, when the 
temperature was quite mild, Yégor and Nadège quitted 
Yakoutsk. Yègor had spoken for a long while to the 
family of the governor of a two or three days’ trip 
that he wished to make upon the right bank of the 
Lena which was still unknown to him ; he came very 
near having for a companion on his journey the gover- 
nor’s eldest daughter, who, more than once, had, on 
similar occasions, imposed herself upon him. 

The fugitives took a hired boat to cross the Lena, 
which is encumbered with little islands dividing it into 
several arms. One of these arms of the river was not 
less than a league wide. 

Grave and serious, as at the commencement of a 
perilous enterprise, they saw recede without the least 


THE EXILES. 


75 


joy the sad capital with its broad, deserted streets, its 
dull habitations ensconsed behind high wooden enclo- 
sures, the belfrys of the four or five churches, and, 
towering a little above the miserable huts, the convent 
and the bazar. 

The night was clear and starry. There was not a 
sound in the country, not a shadow behind them. 
Soon, in the east, a faint, gray dawn seemed to announce 
to them the morning of a free and happy existence. 

“Courage, Yégor!” murmured Nadège, pressing the 
young man’s hand. 

“Ah! my beloved,” said Yégor, smiling softly, “I 
am carrying you off and 3’ou are allowing me to do so ! 
Born far from liere, both of us, I came, as it Avould 
seem, to seek you out amid the Siberian snows and 
bring you back to the warm hearth of friendship, devo- 
tion and love ! Have you any regret on leaving? ” 

“Yes; one only ! ” 

“ What is that ? ” 

“ I regret the scarcely closed tomb I am quitting ! ” 

And the young girl’s eyes filled with tears, at the 
remembrance of her father. Yègor turned away his 
face to hide his emotion. 

A moment after, Nadège resumed; 

“Do you really love me, Yegor?” said she. “It is 
not generous obedience to the supreme desire of my 
dying father which alone is making you act?” 

“Do I love you?” answered Yégor, warmly. “Demand 
my life and you will see ! ” 


76 


THE EXILES. 


“Your life! And what would I do without you 
upon this earth, now altogether a world of exile? No; 
live for me, if you love me. You are worthy of liberty, 
be free, and deliver me also : I shall then doubly belong 
to you ! ” 

Yégôr strongly grasped the hands of his betrothed. 

Half an hour later, they disembarked upon the right 
bank of the river. Thanks to his passport, Yégor 
obtained two relay horses kept by the Yakoutes. The 
journey was beginning in earnest. 

Nadège had a superb look on horseback. Modest 
like a well brought-iip young girl, she possessed that 
vivacity of bearing and that special grace which are 
acquired in the active life of a traveller. 

Guided by a Yakoute, running on foot before them, 
they followed for a long while a narrow path, which, 
turn by turn, wound among willow bushes or crossed 
plains cut up by ponds. Broad day had come. From 
one of these ponds some teal arose. Yégor, wha car- 
ried, slung across his back, a gun “ borrowed ” from the 
governor, killed three of these birds. 

An instant after, on the edge of a wood of larch 
trees, the riders dismounted and the guide kindled a 
fire, spitted the fowls and, in his fashion, prepared 
breakfast. 

The travellers approached the blazing and crackling 
branches, for the morning air was keen. The roasted 
teal, served upon slices of bread, which Yégor drew 
from a small sack of provisions, and washed down with 


THE EXILES. 


77 


koumis made of fermented mare’s milk, obtained from 
the Yakoute in exchange for some brandy, formed an 
excellent repast. A kettle filled with water, drawn 
from a neighboring pond, besides, permitted the making 
of some cups of tea. 

“ Ah ! if we only had our dear Ladislas with us ! ” 
exclaimed Xadège. “ He may, perhaps, be suffering 
from cold and hunger ! ” 

“Do not torment yourself about him, dearest,” 
answered Yégor. “ M. Lafleur is a man full of 
resources, who, certainly, will not let him want for 
anything. They passed by here,” added he, showing 
his companion upon the humid ground the recent 
traces of the wheels of the honest and brave Parisian’s 
cart. 

He had scarcely finished speaking, when, in the dis- 
tance, upon the road opened by them a short time 
before, appeared a man on horseback. 

Nadège shivered with fright. 

“Yégor,” said she, “are we followed?” 

Yégor, who had suddenly become disturbed, looked 
in the direction of the horseman. 

“It must be a traveller,” said he, “but it is certainly 
not a native — that may be seen from his prudent fash- 
ion of trotting. It is a European and, probably, a 
Russian.” 

The Yakoutes have keen sight. The guide of the 
fugitives, in his turn, began to examine the man who 
had attracted their attention. He described to them 
with precision his costume, bearing and face. 


78 


THE EXILES. 


“ If it should be the chief of police ! ’* murmured 
Yegor, grasping the barrels of his gun. 

“ What do you say, Yégor?” cried Nadège, alarmed. 
“Do you foresee any danger?” 

“ What danger?” said Yégor, casting upon his com- 
panion a look supplicating her to hide her trouble from 
the eyes of the guide. “ Are we not going to Aldan- 
skoï? Well, there will be one more of us. This man 
has no guide ; he can go in our company.” 

“I believe that he has followed in our footsteps thus 
far. How else could he have avoided losing his way? 
You know how frightful the roads are ! ” 

“Several times, in fact, it has seemed to me that I 
heard the trot of a horse behind us. All is now 
explained. In any case, Nadège, reassure yourself. 
Whoever shall dare to cause you pain shall pay dearly 
for it ! ” 

Nadège approached Yegor. 

“Yègor,” whispered she, “if we were to mount our 
horses, could we not try to escape ? ” 

“Impossible!” answered Yégor, also in a whisper. 
“ Our guide would not make himself our accomplice, 
and we should compromise everything.” 

“But, at least, do not expose yourself!” 

“ What are you saying, Nadège ? ' Do you think that 
I have waited so many months for the first day of our 
liberation to obey a summons without resistance ? Do 
you know what would await me — what ’would await 
you — under such circumstances ? I must either deliver 
up or defend both our lives ! ” 


THE EXILES. 


79 


“Defend our lives? By what means, Yégor?’’ 

“ By every means ! ” answered the latter. He again 
gazed at the horseman and added : “ It is Yermac ! — 

it is, indeed, the chief of police. He is following us. 
I thought he had forgotten ; but to a man of his mould 
death alone brings forgetfulness.” 

“Yégor, you frighten me!” murmured the young 
girl. “ I no longer recognize you ! ” 

“ Ah ! it is because I love you and they wish to 
separate us ! ” 

“ Yégor, I supplicate you — ” 

“ I will do all I can to put what I owe you in accord 
with what I owe honor and humanity. If I were a 
common malefactor, I would submit at the sight of a 
gendarme ; but I am an innocent man, the victim of an 
odious persecution. For myself and for you I have 
the right on my side and, perhaps, I am the stronger ! ” 

The Yakoute alone was yet eating the remains of the 
teal. He was devouring with a capital appetite the 
morsels which the travellers appeared to have aban- 
doned. At the same time, he took copious draughts of 
koumis and brandy. 

Ydgor was not deceived. It was, indeed, the chief 
of police who was approaching, and it was not chance 
that had put him on the track of the fugitives. For a 
long while, every time the governor’s secretary left 
Yakoutsk, he had caused him to be followed. This 
time, his habitual suspicions had assumed such propor- 
tions that he had decided not to confide the task to 
anybody but himself. 


80 


THE EXILES. 


When he learned that the exile had quitted the seat 
of government with his betrothed, preceded by Davi- 
doff’s adopted son and M. Lafleiir, he felt assured that 
it was with the intention of not returning. He wished 
to have the cruel satisfaction of arresting him himself 
in his flight. Neither liatred nor the remembrance of 
the affront put upon him actuated Yermac. He had a 
higher incentive. He considered himself the instru- 
ment of the law and was obeying the harsh obligations 
of duty. 

When he was within twenty paces of the spot where 
Yégor had halted, Yermac dismounted from his horse 
and fastened it to a larch tree. He advanced towards 
Yégor, who arose at his approach. 

“Out for a little trip, Monsieur Séménoff?” said he, 
with a smile on his lips. It was not an affected, hypo- 
critical smile, but a smile of proud satisfaction and 
triumph. 

“ Out for a little trip, as you see,” answered Yégor. 

“ And here is a young and charming lady,” continued 
the chief of police, turning towards Nadège, “who 
fears neither wretched roads nor dangerous accidents ! ” 

Nadège bowed, growing red and pale by turns. 

“We are going to Aldanskoï,” said Yégor, with 
assumed carelessness. “ My betrothed and I desire to 
get some idea of that part of the country, with which 
we are acquainted only through the vague accounts — ” 

“ Of the merchants who frequent the Yakoutsk fair,” 
interrupted Yermac, with a satirical meaning that did 


THE EXILES. 


81 


not escape Yégor. “ I also am going to Aldanskoi,” 
added he. 

“Indeed! ” exclaimed Yegor, ironical in his turn. 

“ My sole vexation is that I know the way only by 
this direction : constantly follow the right bank of the 
Lena.” 

The chief of police, having brought his own horse 
with him, was not escorted by the guide furnished at 
each relay station. 

Yégor had every interest in not letting this man, in 
whom he saw an irreconcilable foe, outwit him ; the 
contrary would expose him to being stopped. He, 
therefore, invited him to profit by his guide as far as 
the nearest relay station and to accompany him to 
Aldanskoï. 

This proposition somewhat astonished Yermac, but 
he affected to accept it with genuine pleasure. He 
thanked the exile and added : 

“Who would have thought, when we were at the 
bottom of the Oukboul shaft, that we would again 
encounter each other, on a fine September morning, 
among the marshes of the country of the YakoutesI” 

“Don’t talk of the mine,” said Yégor. “ You recall, 
to my great confusion, facts that I have bitterly 
regretted, believe me. Monsieur.” 

“We will drop it, then,” said Yermac, dryly, and he 
colored. 

The exile noticed that he uttered not a word that 
could open the way to a reconciliation. 


82 


THE EXILES. 


“I believed this road utterly unavailable for car- 
riages,” said Yermac. And he pointed to the traces 
of the wheels of M. Lafleur’s little cart, attentively 
watching the exile as he did so. 

‘"1 thought the same,” replied Yégor. “I was told 
so, but I see my informant was mistaken. We have 
just breakfasted,” continued he, “ on the spoils of the 
chase. You see — teal killed in the neighboring pond. 
I am going to shoot another brace or two ; they will be 
better for our next meal than dry biscuit.” 

“I will wait for you here,” said Yermac. 

“You do not hunt? Why then do you carry a 
gun ? ” 

The chief of police vaguely caught a glimpse of a 
hidden design in Yegor Séménoff’s words and the 
invitation they conveyed ; but he shrunk from seeming 
afraid and replied, resolutely : 

“Now I think of it, why should I not participate in 
the amusement? I am your man.” 

Yegor ordered the guide to go in advance and asked 
Nadège to get into the saddle. He motioned to his 
dog Wab to follow the latter. The Yakoute, on foot 
and singing an improvisation, led by the bridles the 
horses of Yégor and the chief of police. 

Nadège, before departing, cast upon her lover a 
supplicating look, which she strove to render persua- 
sive. Yègor understood its generous signification. 

The two hunters, full of distrust for each other, 
passed along the edge of a pond over ground covered 


THE EXILES. 


83 


with a profusion of dwarf cedars. Nadège heard them 
discharge their weapons several times. From afar, she 
even saw a number of large birds fall, stricken by tlieir 
shot. This onl}^ partially reassured her. 

If she could have seen Yegor closer and noticed his 
fierce eyes, compressed lips and clenched hands, she 
would have feared some violence on his part. The 
young man, disma3^ed and overwhelmed, no longer 
hesitated at the thought of crime. He loaded his gun 
with bullets and, without further delay, when Yermac 
took aim at a fen-duck which had just arisen, covered 
him and fired. 

The chief of police heard whistle about his ears not 
small hunting shot, but a ball, which shattered the face 
of his cap. He no longer doubted the intentions of 
the escaped convict, for, in his view, Yègor was nothing 
else. He thought of replying in kind, as he was also 
furnished with like munitions, but that would bring on 
a duel, and the rigid functionary immediately discarded 
the idea as an egregious weakness, an effect of fear. It 
was not his business to disembarrass himself of his 
adversary, no matter how criminal he might be ; his 
strict duty forbade that except as a last resort. It was 
alive, with his hands tied behind his back, that he 
should return him to the seat of government. 

But he had not, however, sufficient heroism to await 
the second shot that Yegor intended for him. He 
allowed himself to fall among the leafy bushes, just as 
the second report was heard. Once on the ground, 


84 


THE EXILES. 


Yermac slung his gun across his back and crawled 
upon his hands and knees, gliding through the clumps 
of dwarf cedars. In this way, he succeeded in getting 
altogether out of range. 

The fact is that Yégor, after having reloaded his 
weapon, advanced cautiously, his finger upon the 
trigger, in the direction where the chief of police had 
concealed himself from his sight. He feared a trap, a 
surprise, a sudden attack, but found no one on the spot 
where he supposed Yermac was in ambush. He scoured 
the surrounding thickets, still maintaining his caution, 
and, at last, lost an exact idea of the respective posi- 
tions they had occupied at the moment he assailed the 
too zealous agent of the law. 

Finally, he found himself again on the edge of the 
path which, in the distance, Nadège was following. 
His face was livid, his eyes wild and his legs bent 
beneath him. 

“I have, perhaps, killed him,” murmured he, “or 
wounded him — which amounts to the same thing in 
such a place as this, without help ! But he brought it 
on himself!” 

Yégor hastened to rejoin Nadège. He heard the 
noise made by the horses as they tramped over stuii}^ 
ground. Ten minutes afterwards, Nadège saw him 
arriv'^ alone, with a disturbed expression on his face. 
She swooned and slipped from her animal. Yegor 
caught her in his arms. 

“ Ah ! Yegor, what have you done ! ” murmured she, 


THE EXILES. 


85 


on opening her eyes. And she gently repulsed the 
young man. 

“It was for you!” cried Yegor. “For you and 
your brother — two lives ! If I only had been involved, 
I should have hesitated — yes, I swear it ! ” 

“ What are we going to do ? ” demanded Nadège, 
after a silence painful for both. 

“First, remount your horse,” said Yégor. 

And he aided his companion to regain her saddle. 

Then he unfastened from his leather belt a teal and 
a fen-duck suspended by the legs, and, calling the 
(uide, who had gone on before : 

“ Take these fowls,” said he. “ And now let us be 
going ! ” 

“But this horse?” said the Yakoute, pointing to the 
animal of the traveller left behind. 

“ The horse ? Set it free. It will not stray, and its 
master will rejoin us presently. Forward ! ” 

The little party started. The Yakoute resumed his 
interrupted chant, and Yermac’s horse, abandoned upon 
the path, after having lifted its nostrils to snuff the 
wind, began to neigh. 

“ Poor beast ! ” Yégor could not help exclaiming. 

“Poor man — and wretched Yégor!” added his com- 
panion. 


86 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER VIL 

THE MURDEROUS ROCK. 

^^TTTHERE is the next relay station?” asked Yégor 
V T of the guide. 

“At Miouré,” answered the latter; “but, before 
reaching it, we will find a yourte in which to pass the 
night.” 

“Very good,” said Yegor. 

The road grew less and less marked. The travellers 
were compelled to go around numbers of miniature 
lakes bordered with larch trees which covered their 
steep banks. Yégor listened from time to time to 
assure himself that they were not pursued by the 
chief of police. Nadège no longer feared the latter 
whom she believed dead ; but the manner of his death 
caused her to imagine a thousand dangers in every 
direction. 

“Are we very far from Aldanskoï?” she asked, from 
hour to hour. 

“ Courage, dearest ! ” replied the young man. “ The 
guide assures me that we will see the Aldan and the 
town upon it to-morrow.” 

The fugitives passed the night in the yourte desig- 
nated by the guide. While they slept, wrapped in the 
coverings they had brought with them, the Yakoute 


THEEXILES. 87 

kept up a fire which had been kindled in the centre of 
this rude habitation of nomads. 

A yourte is a hut in the form of a truncated pyra- 
mid ; it consists of a slight frame covered with dry 
grass and bits of turf. In that occupied by the travel- 
lers were two smafl windows closed, in lieu of glass, 
by transparent strips of fish bladder. The floor of the 
yourte was three feet below the surrounding ground. 
Wide benches, which might serve as beds, stretched 
along the walls. The inhabitants of the yourte had, 
doubtless, temporarily abandoned it to live beneath a 
tent. 

Very early in the morning, the travellers reached 
Miouré. It is a basin several square leagues in extent, 
a dried up ancient lake full of excellent pasture fields 
and yet containing a number of ponds well stocked 
with fish. They encountered there a large village 
formed of yourtes, over which towered the bel fry s of 
two churches. It possessed animation and life, which 
contrasted strongly with the silence of the solitudes 
traversed by the fugitives. In the village streets ran 
various droves of horses. The inhabitants devote 
themselves to cattle raising and trading in furs. The 
relay station was at Mioure. 

Th'e fugitives took fresh horses and a new guide. A 
sort of soup was prepared for them composed of fish, 
milk, fat, a few pinches of flour and a great deal of 
larch bark grated fine, and, after having done honor to 
this altogether local dish, they resumed their journey. 


88 


THE EXILES. 


Yégor was in haste to reach Aldanskoï; there only, on 
again seeing the Parisian and Nadège’s brother, he 
could recover a little quietude and that confidence, 
now so necessary, which already had begun to abandon 
him. 

The roads were wretched, and it was often requisite 
to shun dangerous marshes. At last they arrived at 
Aldanskoï, and the first thing they saw on the out- 
skirts of the little town was M. Lafleur’s cart. Ladis- 
las was watching it. The child ran joyously to them. 

“And M. Lafleur?” asked Nadège, anxiously, after 
having warmly clasped Ladislas against her heart. 

“Do you not hear?” said Ladislas. 

In a neighboring yourte, the sounds of a little violin 
were filling with joy and motion a half dozen 3'Oung 
people of the district — lads and lasses. M. Lafleur 
soon appeared upon the threshold, continuing to play 
on his instrument. Between two measures, he grasped 
Yegor’s hand and gallantly kissed the tips of Nadège’s 
fingers. 

The company to whom he was giving such delight 
did not wish to part with him at once. 

“We are pursued,” Yégor whispered in his ear. 
“ There is not a moment to lose.” 

The people of the yourte finally came out, attracted 
by the presence of the travellers. Nadège, in her 
riding-dress, caused much astonishment. Yégor selected 
this moment to tell M. Lafleur how he had been reduced 
to the cruel extremity of disembarrassing himself of 
the chief of police. 


THE EXILES. 


89 


“But,” added he, “the chief of police might have 
been followed at a short distance by several Cossacks, 
and the moment our flight is discovered we have 
everything to fear.” 

“You are right,” said the Parisian. “We must 
make haste.” 

“M. Lafleur,” said Yegor, “your devotion has been 
put to a complete enough proof. Leave us here, and, 
whatever may happen, believe me that I will never 
forget what you have done.” 

“No,” replied the* excellent M. Lafleur; “I will 
quit you onl}^ when you have crossed the Verkho- 
Yansk chain of mountains. Besides, I will take advan- 
tage of the opportunity to enrich my herbal — the 
herbal of the collection intended fur my family’s town, 
Cliriteau-Thierry. I will tell you about it.” 

Nadège joined her entreaties to those of Y<3gor, but 
they could not induce the dancing-master to reconsider 
Lis determination. 

An, instant afterwards, the Yakoute, to whom M. 
Lafleur had given rendezvous at Aldanskoï, was pre- 
sented by him to Yegor. His name was Tekel, and he 
was to accompany the fugitives as long as they might 
need his services. He was a man of about thirty, of 
short stature, but solid and well built, with a counte- 
nance denoting subtle cunning and good nature. 

He it was who, the fugitives once hidden in the 
forest of Ostrovoyd, which commences at the bottom 
of the Verkho-Yansk Mountains, was to go on foot to 
6 


90 


THE EXILES. 


Zachiversk, distant four hundred kilomètres from that 
forest, to bring back at the first heav}^ frosts a sledge — 
a narta — with a strong team of reindeer. 

M. Lafleur had bought the day before, on reaching 
Aldanskoï, a horse for Yégor and a smaller one for 
Nadège, as well as a shaft horse for the cart to be 
driven by Tékel and in which Ladislas was to ride. 

The relay horses and the guide, who was liberally 
paid, were sent back. 

After resting for an hour, the party set out. 

In his careful foresight, Ydgor had counted upon the 
heavy frosts of September, which alone were capable 
of solidifying the softened ground, which, two weeks 
sooner, would offer insurmountable obstacles. 

The country presented a succession of pronounced 
undulations. Tall trees, among which the larch pre- 
dominated, covered the heights. The lower portions 
were hollowed out by the action of the rains. 

It was requisite, in order to cross the Aldan, to pro- 
cure a flat boat and have recourse to the assistance of 
the natives, for the river is not less than fifteen hundred 
mètres broad. This stream crossed, the travellers 
erected, for the first time, a square tent made of rein- 
deer skin and called in the language of the country a 
pologue. M. Lafleur had purchased it at Aldanskoï. 
It was to be transported at first rolled up in the bottom 
of the cart, and afterwards in the sledge. 

Some provisions were taken from the sacks, and the 
improvised repast only needed a little gay et}’' to render 


THE EXILES. 


91 


it charming, but even M. Lafleur, despite all his efforts 
to animate his friends, could not inspire it. The horses, 
set at liberty, pastured in a neighboring meadow. 

Yegor and Nadège had good reason for being full of 
•care. 

The chief of police, as we have seen, had escaped 
from Yégor, at the same time acquiring convincing 
proof that the trip to Aldanskoï was but the first step 
in an escape across Siberia. Besides, the shattered 
face of his cap was evidence sufficient to convince the 
most incredulous that a criminal attempt had been 
made, for why should the governor’s secretary have 
tried to take the life of the chief of police if Ids 
presence had not been an obstacle to his plans? The 
shots fired by the exile clearly established what he was 
about. 

As soon as he could safely quit his hiding-place, 
Yermac searched for his horse. He heard it neighing 
frequently and comprehended that the animal had 
been abandoned. He finally saw it in the distance, 
wandering at will. Now it approached him, and then 
it tore madly away as if under the influence of fear. 

He strove to overtake it, but his strength failed him. 
On leaving Yakoutsk, he had brought with him only a 
few pounds of biscuit, but even this slight supply of 
provisions was in the valise fastened to the horse’s 
saddle. The recovery of the animal was, therefore, 
an imperious necessity. 

Happily, the horse eventually recognized its master 


92 


THE EXILES. 


aiul ran to him. But tlie fugitives had now more than 
three hours’ start of him. However, the chief of police 
resolved to continue liis pursuit of them. Once at 
Aldanskoï, he would procure, thought he, a reliable 
messenger to inform the governor of the exiles’ escape 
and ask for a squad of Cossacks. 

Let us return to the fugitives and the brave man 
who was aiding them. 

After a few liours’ rest, they resumed their travels. 
They found onlj" marshes before them ; green grass 
and hills became rare. The sk}" clouded; snow fell — 
the first of the autumn — and the thermometer sank to 
two degrees below zero. Wlien they again erected 
tlieir tent, the}' were forced to light a fire. Afar off, 
in the narrow valleys of the Verkho-Yansk Mountains, 
they heard a torrent roaring. The next day they 
foi-ded it. 

'J'his operation was not effected without considerable 
fatigue; the banks of the torrent were encumbered 
with up-rooted trees and enormous blocks of stone 
precipitated from the neighboring heights. But, at 
last, they were out of the marshes and were approach- 
ing the Verkho-Yansk chain. Once there, they would 
be safe ! 

As they advanced, the forests, rare at first, were 
more frequently met. In tliem the poplar trees grew 
to an enormous size, and upon the dry lands dwarf 
cedars mingled with birches and firs. In the last- 
mentioned forests, heath-cocks abounded, and M. 


THE EXILES. 93 

Lafleiir and little Ladislas, who was a capital shot, 
hunted tliem with success. 

At length, the passage of the formidable chain of 
mountains was begun. The wind blew, that day, with 
violence and increased the difficulties of the under- 
taking. 

The cart made its way toilsomely among the frag- 
ments of rock which strewed the narrow road. The 
ascent of the rugged slopes was dangerous in the 
extreme. The travellers wound about enormous 
masses of black rock entirely bare, the summits of 
which sloped at an elevation of several hundred feet. 
They parsed along the edges of deep abj^sses. 

They pushed slowly through a gloomy defile in which 
the wind raged. On emerging from it, M. Lafleur 
advised Yégor to put the cart in an elbow formed by 
the rocks, which would enable Nadège and little Ladis- 
las to rest for a few instants sheltered from the blast 
and to gather a fresh supply of strength. This advice 
was adopted and the party halted. The horses were 
tied to huge trees. 

While the young girl and her brother took some 
provisions from the sacks, Yégor, M. Lafleur, and the 
Yakoute Tekel scaled the sides of the mountain to 
make observations. Stones loosened by their feet 
rolled down behind them. 

They reached a narrow platform which the whistling 
wind swept over. Behind them, the side of the moi.n- 
taiu inclined menacingly. Thick clouds floated aouve 


THE EXILES. 


94 

their heads and a torrent, the noise of which Was 
brought to them at intervals by the blast, roared near 
at hand. 

From this culminating point, they saw, as it were 
behind a suddenly raised curtain, the imposing chain of 
mountains stretching as far as the eye could reach, its 
axis running towards its frozen pole, amid vast solitudes 
that could readily be imagined. It was as if the 
gigantic waves of an ocean lashed by a tempest had 
been suddenly petrified and the vertigo of a troubled 
gaze had all at once put them again in motion. 

The aspect of these massive portions of a tremendous 
frame, black with northern trees, with their lofty sum- 
mits loaded down with snow, their crystal glaciers 
packed between high slopes, their sombre defiles often 
torn by the lightning, and their steep, inaccessible 
walls — all this saddened the heart, froze the senses and 
troubled the mind. 

And beneath the dark sky stretching to infinity, the 
parallel chains and their lateral extensions with their 
few grassy plains, the ramifications of desolate valleys 
dimly seen through narrow gorges, the unfathomable 
ravines, the gaps from which ascended in bluish vapor 
the foam of waterfalls, the immeasurable circular basins, 
the blanched elevations and the sharp peaks. 

The spot WRS lugubrious, desolate and sad — more 
than sad ; sinister. It seemed chosen for the accom- 
plishment of a crime. 

Suddenly, from this post of observation, the Yakoute 
discovered, upon the w^estern side of the mountain 


THE EXILES. 


96 


over which the travellers had passed, a man on horse- 
back, advancing with difficulty and struggling obsti- 
nately against the wind which poured furiously from 
the ravine. He described him to the two Europeans. 

“ Mon Dieu ! ” cried M. Lafleur. “ It is the chief 
of police ! ” 

“ Thank heaven ! ” Yégor could not help exclaiming, 
for he felt himself released from a heavy load. 

“ Thank heaven ! eh? That’s very charitable!’* 
muttered M. Lafleur. “ But he is going straight 
towards Mile. Davidoffi Perhaps, he has even seen us. 
What does the man want ? ” 

“Alas! the wretch has not been touched by our 
adversity ; he feels no pity for our misery ! ” murmured 
Yégor. “ He wants my life and those of the poor 
children I am striving to save from oppression and 
infamy ! ” 

The chief of police was constrained by the force of 
the wind to continue his journey on foot. He drew his 
gray horse along by the bridle. 

“ What are you going to do, my poor friend? ” asked 
the Parisian of Yégor. 

“ What would you do in my place ? ” said the latter, 
full of the strongest anxiety. 

M. Lafleur seemed to have made a decision. 

“ Ma foi ! ” said he, in a tone void of all hesitation, 
“ I should not make two bites of the cherry. I should 
say: Since this madman persists in trying to undo me 
— since one or the other of us must perish — let him be 
the victim ! ” 


96 


THE EXILES. 


“ But I suffered so much, M. Lafleur, when I believed 
I had killed him ! ” 

“ Another reason : he is jout debtor ! ” 

While speaking, the dancing-master made a sign to 
Tékel. He pointed out to him an enormous mass of 
rock suspended on the verge of the platform ; a vigor- 
ous shake could easily detach it and hurl it down. The 
Yakoute immediately comprehended that an enemy was 
to be got rid of. Tf.e man and the horse would pass 
over the very spot threatened with the fall of the rock. 

“Oh! you will not do that ! ” cried Yegor, guessing 
the Parisian’s intention. 

“I certainly will not do it — if I have not sufficient 
strength — but I will do it, if I can obtain the aid of 
Tékel’s strength and yours — which you will not refuse, 
Yégor!” 

“ Ah ! to what extremity do you wish to reduce me?” 

“Do you prefer the knout?” said M. Lafleur. 

And he used as a lever his long ascension pole. 

For his part, the Yakoute, bending over the abyss, 
began to loosen the rock from tlie outside by removing 
the fragments which kept it in place. 

“Come, Y(*gor. lend a hand!” said the Parisian. “I 
assume the responsibility of the affair. It is necessary 
for you, for Nadège I — for Nadège, my friend ! ” 

“He would have it so!” said Yègor, and he seized 
the dancing-master's white pole. 

' The three men moved the mass of rock. Its centre 
of gravity displaced, a slight effort would suffice to 
precipitate it into the chasm. 


THE EXILES. 


97 


Yermac had advanced directl}" beneath them without 
seeing tliem, for they were hidden by tlie block of 
stone and the briars which bordered the platform. 

The dancing-master followed with an attentive e3"e 
the progress of the man whom he had devoted to death. 
He pointed the block as an artilleryman points a 
cannon. The Yakoute waited but for the word of 
command. 

“ One, two, and down with it ! ” cried the Parisian. 

“ God forgive me ! ” murmured Yegor. 

“Vive la liberté I” cried the Parisian, in a loud 
voice. 

The heavy mass tottered and detached itself, accele- 
rating its speed and grazing with a crash the perpendi- 
cular Avails, the projecting portions of which it tore 
awa3^ It encountered two tall pine trees which it 
carried Avith it. The enormous block afterwards 
bounded from rock to rock, hurling afar its débris; 
then it struck the ground Avith, a formidable noise like 
a discharge of heavy artillery. 

The three men, seized Avith A^ertigo at the sight of 
the gap they had made, recoiled affrighted, closing their 
eyes. 

Already, around about, rolls of thunder sped from 
echo to echo, dying away in the distance. 

The Yakoute Avas the first Avho had the courage to 
advance to see the result of the Avork. Wrecks 
covered the ground, still white Avith the snoAV Avhich 
fell on the preceding day. The gray horse lay stretched 


98 


THE EXILES. 


out and crushed. But the man — what had become of 
the man? Was he beneath the pines, beneath the mass 
of the block itself? He had disappeared. 

A woman’s cries were heard. They took the shape 
of a despairing call. 

‘‘It is Mile. Davidoff’s voice,” stammered Yégor, 
pale and trembling. 

“ The poor child is frightened,” observed M. Lafleur. 
“ She, undoubtedly, believes us in danger. Let us go 
and reassure her. Now the success of 3^our enterprise 
is certain, and I have only to quit you as soon as we 
shall have crossed the defiles — unless this affair — this 
murder — well, I am in a nice fix for an honest trader 
and dancing-master! What about my Yakoute milli- 
ners, my birch sap champagne, my glassware and my 
collection for the museum of Château-Thierry ? ” 

“ I was afraid of this, my dear Monsieur Lafleur ! ” 
cried Yégor, overwhelmed with trouble. 

“ Do not worry yourself for so little ! ” resumed the 
Parisian. “ What difference does it make, if I have 
saved you! Well, I will follow you to your journey’s 
end ! It will be pleasant, indeed, for me to return to 
the Faubourg Antoine by way of Kamtchatka or the 
north pole ! Ah ! man holds the violin, but God directs 
the dance ! ” 

“ I am confounded ! ” 

“ Vive la liberté,” cried M. Lafleur. And he added : 
“Let us go and calm the terror of your charming 
betrothed. We shall find the descent from here easier 
than the ascent.” 


THE EXILES. 


99 


CHAPTER VIIL 

IK THE FOREST OP OSTROVOYÊ. 

M eanwhile, the night had come on, and not a 
sound troubled the profound silence, not even 
the cracking of branches, so frequent in forests, and 
the mysterious whispering of leaves, which suggests 
the secret communings of the darkness. Yégor had 
many times thrown himself on the ground and placed 
his ear to the soil, but no vibration had revealed the 
approach of a human being. 

In this gorge, abrupt, winding, narrow, bristling with 
rocks, and full of larch trees with enormous black 
branches spreading out in the gloom like immense bat 
wings, the obscurity was deep. Yégor was forced to 
light the small dark-lantern with which he was pro- 
vided; he fastened it to the collar of his dog. One 
might say the intelligent animal comprehended the im- 
portance of the role entrusted to it. It went forward 
cautiously, with ears erect. From time to time, it 
turned about to assure itself that its master was follow- 
ing it. 

Ladislas had fallen asleep in the cart ; Nadège walked 
beside the vehicle, and M. Lafleur, plunged in a world 
of reflections .neither flowery nor joyous, brought up 
the rear, with bowed head, still carrying in his over- 


100 


THE EXILES. 


coat pocket liis violin, which he pressed against his 
heart as if to warm it. 

Poor M. Laileurl He no longer belonged to the 
dance ! Alas ! that he who loved not strong eniotions and 
had created for himself a mild and tranquil existence, he 
who was saving for himself a few thousand roubles 
yearly that he might go as soon as possible to plant 
cabbages at Château-Thierry, should be obliged to flee 
like a criminal, an assassin, walking the roads — if they 
could be called roads! — in the midst of the night 
and pursued by the gendarmes ! 

An assassin ! He asked himself if he were not one ! 

Had he not been Yégor’s accomplice? In his immod- 
erate generosity had he not espoused the cause of the 
fugitives? Had he not suggested to Yegor the idea of 
precipitating the rock upon Yermac? i\I. Lafleur said 
to himself that he evidently had not known what he 
was doing. The strangeness of his situation, his im- 
pulsive nature and his good heart with its generous 
outbursts — he would have preferred death to the cap- 
ture of his friends through his passive attitude — sucli 
had been the moving causes capable of impelling hir i 
to become unconsciously the champion and defender c-f 
a criminal act. 

All sorts of incoherent thoughts mingled with each 
other now in his brain. He stopped himself, at times, 
upon the point of retracing his steps to aid Yermac. 
Who knew ? Perhaps the chief of police, was not yet 
dead? But would not that amount to delivering him 


TliE EXILES. 


101 


self up to justice, to accepting alone the responsibility 
of the crime? No; that was impossible! Then, 
doubling his pace, he breathlessly rejoined his compan- 
ions, who asked him what was the matter or if he had 
heard anything. 

“ No, no ; it was nothing,” answered he. “ I imag- 
ined I heard a voice.” 

It was the voice of his conscience reproaching hina 
for his conduct. 

After a long and toilsome march, the fugitives saw 
with satisfaction the end of the defile. The moon’s 
raj’^s, stealing through the interstices of the trees, 
chano^ed into columns of silver the smooth and shiniufy 

o o 

trunks of the birches and transformed into beautiful 
velvet draperies the vines clinging to the branches of 
the pines and larches. 

Leaving behind them the valley slumbering amid 
perfect quietude, they crossed a slope beneath a starry 
sky. The massive elevations of the Verkho-Yansk 
INlountains raised to the right and left their pyramids 
of stone, which newly-fallen snow covered as with a 
mantle of ermine. 

At daybreak the fugitives reached a wooded plateau, 
which offered a site favorable to camping and conceal- 
ment. 

It was the forest of Ostrovoyd. 

Overlooking a ravine, at the bottom of which flowed 
a torrent, this plateau was protected on its three 
remaining sides by the lateral extensions of the chain 


102 


THE EXILES. 


of mountains; the thick forest which covered it and 
was at least ten kilomètres long made it like the centre 
of an impregnable fortress. 

Yégor, who had profited by a short halt to explore 
the spot and study its position in the double point of 
view of flight and defence, held a council and expressed 
the opinion that the place was a suitable one in which 
to await the winter, the speedy arrival of which was 
announced in various ways. 

While they were encamped in the forest, the Yakoute 
Tckel could go on foot to Zachiversk, a little town sit- 
uated on the right bank of the Indiguirka, to procure 
two sledges drawn by reindeer. These sledges were 
indispensable to continue the journey in Avinter, over 
the marshes and rivers leA^eled by the snow which falls 
in abundance in these regions. 

Tckel would bring back Avith him a second sledge 
driver, and the party Avould start immediately for the 
country of the Tchouktchis, nominally under the con- 
trol of Russia, from Avhence it Avould be possible to 
reach the Gulf of Anadyr in the spring. 

M. Lafieur made no opposition ; he hoped that an 
opportunity for him to return to Yakoutsk might pre- 
sent itself. Yermac dead, from whence could trouble 
arise for him? There had been only one Avitness of his 
complicity — the chief of police himself. 

The trees of the forest of Ostrovoyé Avere too close 
together to permit the cart to be taken Avith them. 
But they could not abandon it. Yégor, aided by the 


THE EXILES. 


lOâ 

Yakoute, demolished it, and the provisions as well as 
the baggage were carried to the place selected for the 
encampment. The horses were loaded with the cover- 
ings and tents and led with much difficulty into the 
midst of the forest, where the trunks of the pines and 
larches formed a kind of palisade. 

When the fugitives believed themselves in security, 
they remembered that they had not eaten since the 
previous day. They were dying with hunger, having 
walked all night. 

The Yakoute cut some dry branches and kindled a 
fire, over which was prepared a solid repast, thanks to 
the provisions brought from Yakoutsk in the cart. 
Then, without loss of time, the encampment was begun. 
Yégor, armed with his hatchet, commenced to plant 
the stakes for Nadège’s cabin. Little Ladislas brought 
branches, and Yégor interlaced them and strengthened 
the walls with earth and turf, aft| r the fashion of the 
Yakoute yourtes. M. Lafleur, always gallant, arranged 
a quantity of skins to serve as beds for Nadège and 
Ladislas. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur built a hut for themselves in 
common, under a colossal larch, which stretched out its 
thick boughs like a protecting roof. 

The next day, at dawn, Yégor gave his instructions 
to the Yakoute, together with a small bundle of paper 
roubles, which he had carefully kept in reserve, ever 
since his departure from Kieff, hidden in the lining of 
his boots. 


104 


THE EXILES. 


Tekel departed for Zachiversk, bearing with him all 
the hopes of the fugitives. On his return depended 
the success of the escape which had already presented 
so many difficulties. 

Yégor accompanied the native as far as the border of 
the torrent, which had hollowed out for itself, at the 
extremity of the valley, a tortuous bed through the 
thickets, thorns and stones. He made with his hatchet, 
which he now constantly carried together with his cara- 
bine and two revolvers, a few notches on the poplars on 
the verge of the stream. 

“ They will enable you,” said he to tlie Yakoute, “ to 
tell where you are. The torrent will be frozen in two 
weeks. Call out and we will answer.” 

“In two weeks, I shall be back,” said Tdkel, and, 
crossing the torrent by leaping from stone to stone, he 
waved his hand to Ydgor in token of farewell and 
vanished in the forest. 

The exile returned towards the camp ; his dog pre- 
ceded him, running among the bushes and joyously 
wagging its tail. 

Suddenly, the animal stopped, as if it had seen or 
heard something. 

Yégor stopped also, and, grasping his hatchet in both 
hands, stood motionless. 

Around him nothing stirred ; there was not a sound, 
not even the cry of a bird. 

The dog disappeared in a tangled thicket ; it soon 
returned, barking as if to summon help, and, by its 


THE EXILES. 105 

agitation and excited movements, seemed to invite its 
master to follow it. 

The latter penetrated into a vast labyrinth of briars 
which, in spots, obstructed, invaded and filled the 
forest. More than once he was obliged to get down on 
the ground and crawl like a wild beast, in order to pass 
beneath the myrtle bushes with tart berries which 
formed arches of dark verdure, interlacing and twist- 
ing their branches. 

He reached a place where thin and flexible reeds 
resembling huge arrows betrayed the presence of a 
pond or stream. 

It was a pool fed by a hidden spring, in which grew 
an abundance of aquatic grass and plants. 

The dog at one bound sprang behind a clump of 
eglantines and gooseberry bushes, which shut off the 
view of the pond from the right, and gave a bark to 
which a human voice responded. 

Yégor gave a start. Then, advancing with the 
circumspection of a Redskin on the war-path, he made 
a turn and, still hidden from sight, reached the edge of 
the pool. 

“ Monsieur Lafleur ! how in the world came you 
here ? ” cried he, as he recognized his friend and ran to 
his assistance. 

The dancing-master, mired to the waist in the mud, 
was struggling to get out and clinging to a root that 
he might not sink deeper. 

“Yegor !” ejaculated the Parisian. “Ah I true; I 

7 


106 


THE EXILES. 


was waiting for you — with philosophy and patience, 
for, in this land of Cossacks and wolves, one learns to 
be patient without reading the works of the philoso- 
phers ! ” 

“ How did you get here ? ” 

“ I was herborizing. From plant to plant, I came 
like the butterfly to the edge of this treacherous pond. 
I wished to cull a stalk of this morochka, rubus cha- 
mamorus, as we call it in the language of science. 
( M. Lafleur had made his début, when twenty years 
of age, in an herb shop kept by one of his uncles at 
Château-Thierry.) I slipped, and that explains how, 
in my turn, I became one of the adornments of this 
pool!” 

Yegor grasped M. Lafleur in his arms, and succeeded 
in extricating him from his disagreeable situation. 

“ Where are my shoes — my pumps ? ” exclaimed the 
dancing-master, on finding himself extended upon the 
grass deprived even of his stockings, which had not 
seen fit to abandon his light shoes — for, in order to 
escape suspicion, the dancing-master had quitted 
Yakoutsk wearing his pumps, as if going on one of his 
usual musical, commercial and curiosity-hunting excur- 
sions. 

“Ah! my dear Monsieur Lafleur,” said Yégor, “it is 
but justice that you should pay a slight tribute to this 
pond ; it might have entirely swallowed you up, but it 
has restored you almost complete ! ” 

“ Stockings knit by the late Madame Lafleur ! — and 


THE EXILES. 107 

pumps I imported from Paris, from the Rue Richelieu, 
opposite the Théâtre-Français ! ” 

“ And probably the only pair you have with you I ” 
“You are right — my sole, my only pair of shoes! 
I shall be compelled to walk barefooted amid the 
bushes and briars ! ” said M. Lafleur, with piteous and 
terrified looks. 

“No, my friend, no,” answered Yégor. “You shall 
see that man’s industry has established shoe-shops even 
in the abandoned solitudes of the Verkho-Yansk Moun- 
tains.” 

And approaching a birch tree, he adroitly cut off 
long strips of its bark; he twisted them with much 
skill into that species of socks called “ laptis ” peculiar 
to Russian country districts. 

“They are not very elegant, I admit,” said Yégor, 
handing them to M. Lafleur, “ and you would probably 
be a trifle embarrassed in dancing a “ Sibérienne ” in 
them ; but we are not going to a ball I ” 

“ Ah ! no ! we are not going to a ball ! ” sighed M. 
Lafleur, looking at his moccasins with a droll air. 

And he set out with Yégor, who was eager to regain 
the encampment where Nadège and Ladislas were 
waiting for him. 


108 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER IX. 

A MIGHTY CONFLAGRATION. 

T he Esaoule, or relay-master and Justice of the 
Peace, of Nijni-Kolimsk (a town situated at the 
mouth of the Kolima, on the Arctic Ocean and at the 
frontier of the country of the Tchouktchis,) was a 
Russian officer named Toumanoff, who, having a 
daughter and a son about the ages of Nadège and 
Ladislas, had sent them to one of his relatives at 
Yakoutsk, there to receive an education that could not 
DC acquired at Nijni-Kolimsk. 

These young people were, besides, pupils of M. 
Lafleur, who, occasionally, gave the lad a lesson on the 
violin and instructed his sister in dancing. 

Yégor, foreseeing that he would have to pass not far 
from Nijni-Kolimsk — the last and most northerly of the 
Russian towns — and that he would be compelled more 
than once, perhaps, to exhibit the false passport he had 
prepared for himself upon a sheet of paper stamped 
with the imperial arms, had made it out as if for the 
Esaoule’s children, accompanied by their cousin of the 
same family name. There remained to find a plausible 
motive for the journey accomplished at the commence- 
ment of winter: Yégor trusted to the situation to 
inspire him. 


THE EXILES. 


109 


He sometimes talked of this with Nadège and M. 
Lafleiir, but without reaching any determination. 

The deep solitude, in which the fugitives found them- 
selves in the midst of the forest, and the necessity for 
remaining concealed, led them to look for the means of 
supplying certain things they lacked. 

To husband their supplies of food and munitions, 
they devised methods for procuring game without the 
use of powder and for catching fish without showing 
themselves on the banks of the torrent, where some 
unfortunate meeting might take place. 

Yégor had noticed tracks of wild goats near the 
pond in which M. Lafleur had been forced to leave, as 
a ransom, his stockings and pumps. The idea occurred 
to him to take one of these animals in a trap. He suc- 
ceeded with the aid of a rope and slip-knot, and 
obtained both goat’s milk for Nadège and Ladislas and 
the kids which, attracted by the cries of their dam, 
remained beside the captive, their gambols furnishing 
amusement for the young girl and her adopted brother. 

In another part of the forest, he arranged a more 
formidable engine, intended to trap a bear after the 
fashion adopted by the Kamtchadales. The latter 
suspend a weight in the air, putting on it as a bait the 
flesh of some animal. The bear no sooner scents it 
than it advances heavily, but scarcely has it touched 
the frail support of the weight than the latter falls upon 
its neck and punishes it for its voracity by crushing 
its skull. 


110 


THE EXILES. 


On the second day, Yégor was rewarded by the 
carcass of a brown bear of respectable dimensions. 
The skin of the beast augmented the supply of furs. 
M. Lafleur prepared the meat for the kitchen and 
declared that, in his opinion, nothing was more delicious 
than bear steaks cooked rare. 

The following day, Yégor shot a wild ram which 
increased the stock of food. 

Ladislas was charged with furnishing the household 
with birds and fish. The lad had pulled some hairs 
from the horses’ tails and made snares of them. He 
had snares fastened to stakes and snares with springs — 
snares suspended in the air and snares on the ground. 
M. Lafleur was forced to devise recipes for dishing up 
partridges, heath-cocks, jackdaws and starlings which 
were caught in the boy’s traps. Nadège, on her side, 
prepared a partridge pâté, the dough of which was 
formed of dry fish reduced to powder and mixed with 
a little rye flour. 

The little Pole had also manufactured osier nets, 
which he kept beneath the water of the torrent by 
means of stones ; the fish that entered them could not 
escape. 

And while Nadège busied herself in getting ready 
winter garments, lining them with the skins of martens 
and zibellines which Yégor caught in traps set for that 
purpose, M. Lafleur was not idle. Seeing that the 
birds became daily more distrustful in the vicinity of 
Ladislas’ snares, he had invented another- stratagem for 


THE EXILES. 


Ill 


their capture. “ I have lost my shoes,” said he, “ and 
hence no longer need my rubbers.” And he melted 
them over the fire with resin, thus obtaining an excel- 
lent thick and pitchy glue. He placed upon the 
eglantine bushes little sticks steeped in this mixture, 
and all the poor singing birds, which innocently settled 
on them, stuck fast by the claws and wings and fell, 
uttering loud cries. 

M. Lafleur at once hastened to the spot and put them 
in his huge pockets. Ladislas had at first been en- 
trusted with the collection of the poor victims, but M. 
Lafleur noticed, at last, that the child, who, doubtless, 
pitied the little winged musicians, set free more than 
he brought home. 

One day, the excellent M. Lafleur returned with a 
radiant look. Had he captured more sparrows than 
usual ? He smiled archly and winked, holding one of 
his hands behind his back. 

“ Ladislas, my lad,” cried he, “ approach ! ” 

When the child stood before him, he gave him a 
superb flute made of a reed. 

“ And now,” said he, “ blow in it, placing two of 
your fingers on these holes.” 

The boy puffed out his cheeks, blew, and clear, soft 
notes issued from the instrument as if by magic. 

Ladislas passed several hours daily in practicing 
music, and, in the evening, M. Lafleur drew his little 
violin from his pocket to accompany the airs improvised 
by his pupil. 


112 


THE EXILES. 


Does it not seem as though there were a fairy in 
every young girl? Nadège’s hut was embellished day 
by day, thanks to her care, her good taste and her love 
of neatness and order. She had made of that humble 
shelter of leaves something charming, a delicious nest 
soft with moss and perfumed with flowers ; at the door, 
in the guise of a curtain, hung a great mass of ivy 
torn by Ladislas from one of the veteran trees of the 
forest ; thick furs spread upon the floor over dry leaves 
served her for a bed. Yegor had made for his betrothed 
a rustic table and chair formed of the roots of a tree 
felled by the wind. 

Upon the table, between two thin boards, was 
enclosed the young girl’s most precious possession 
her father’s last poems, written in days of trial and 
trouble, which she designed to publish if she should 
ever set foot upon a land of liberty ! 

Above, the Holy Image, carried everj^where by 
Nadège in her exile — as the ancients carried the lares 
of the hearth — stood out from a background of gold, 
suspended beneath garlands of moss. 

Meanwhile, the honest and good M. Lafleur suffered 
less from having lost his shoes than from being deprived 
of tobacco. Thinking to return to Yakoutsk in a few 
(lays, he had neglected to supply himself with it. His 
nose of respectable dimensions, planted like a red 
standard in the centre of his parchment-like face, had 
become melancholy from lack of snuff, and was visibly 
falling away. Tobacco was evidently as necessary for 


THE EXILES. 


113 


that nose, with its wide nostrils resembling two 
thimbles, as the. dew for the plant and the manure for 
the fields. M. Lafieur incessantly drew his silver snuff- 
box from the depths of his vest pocket, and, opining 
it with a sad air, shook his head and rubbed his nose ; 
then he restored the snuff-box to his pocket, uttering a 
deep sigh. 

M. Lafieur, who claimed that his ideas had vanished 
with his tobacco, nevertheless, found one. “ Tobacco,” 
said he, “ was brought from America to Europe. Sup- 
pose I were to look for some similar plant? In certain 
countries, they replace bread by the potato and even 
by tree bark.” So he began to search, and, as all who 
seek find, he thought that a species of arnica which he 
encountered in his walks would supply the object o^ 
his desires. 

He dried the leaves of that plant upon an iron plate 
and succeeded in reducing them to a suitable powder. 

The first whiff of this chestnut-hued snuff made the 
good M. Lafieur sneeze for half an hour. His nose 
seemed transformed into a mitrailleuse. It exploded, 
thundered and raged. He laughed at it, with tears in 
his eyes. “ Ah ! ” cried he, “ I believe my nose is firing 
a salute of joy ! ” 

Thus the first week of the encampment passed away. 
A few days more and the Yakoute would return with his 
sledges and reindeer. That would be freedom, almost 
deliverance! Yégor, without allowing his feverish 
impatience to be seen, counted the hours and the min- 


114 


THE EXII. ES. 


utes. M. Lafleur still flattered himself with the hope 
that, Yermac dead and no witness of his complicity 
existing, he could readily return to Yakoutsk. 

Thus far, nothing had troubled the fugitives in their 
retreat. They, nevertheless, continued to be very cir- 
cumspect and watchful. Near the encampment was an 
elevation, crowned with enormous pines, which over- 
looked the rest of the forest. Morning and evening, 
Ladislas climbed to the top of one of these trees to scan 
the vicinity; it was the fugitives’ light-house and post 
of observation. From it, the glance embraced the 
immense forest, rolling away like a sea of leaves of 
which the conical points of the firs simulated the waves. 
And, afar off, in a long greenish perspective, chains of 
bare mountains formed, as it were, the steep shores of 
this ocean of verdure. Away above, huge birds floated 
like shreds of torn cloth, borne along at the will of the 
winds in a tempestuous sky. 

One morning, the exiles found the trees and the 
ground covered with snow. The flakes continued to 
fall one by one, slowly and silently, weaving a white 
winding-sheet for the earth, putting swan’s-down 
around the trunks of the aged pines, and on the 
branches of the larches, heaps resembling stalagmites of 
virgin wax. The bushes, sprinkled as if with cotton, 
produced a most picturesque effect, and every breath 
of life beneath the leaves and in the thickets was 
hushed and suspended. 

Not the note of a bird, not the hum of an insect, but a 


THE EXII. ES. 


115 


heavy, sad silence. One might have thought that this 
sudden irruption of winter in the green forest had fro- 
zen with terror all its inhabitants. But, for the fugi- 
tives, winter, cold and snow, leveling marshes and bogs, 
were instruments of deliverance r 

Yet M. Lafleur, shivering, displayed a vexed look. 
Finally, towards noon, the flakes came in lessening 
numbers and the snow ceased to fall. The dancing- 
master cast his eyes over the vast stretch of white- 
ness, which suggested an immense glacier of the primi- 
tive epoch, when part of the world was slumbering 
beneath a thick envelope of crystal. 

That day, after the few hours’ duration to which the 
sunlight was reduced, they lighted in Nadège’s hut the 
great copper lamp intended to furnish both heat and 
illumination. 

The young girl made and served tea, recounting the 
while to M. Lafleur the sufferings endured by her father 
and herself on their journey to Siberia, in the midst of 
a severe winter, during which they encountered several 
of those terrible hurricanes so frequent beyond the 
Ural Mountains. 

They saw wolves running on each side of their 
sledge, ready to leap upon the horses if they should 
fall or relax their pace. Such experiences were dread- 
ful for an old man and a young girl so steeped in 
misfortune. They reached Nertchinsk exhausted, after 
a journey of more than seven thousand verstes, accom- 
plished under the worst conditions. 


116 


THE EXILES. 


“ Poor father ! ” murmured Nadège, as she finished 
her recital. 

“ Poor Nadège I ” said Yégor, extending his hands to 
his betrothed. 

“My friends,” said the Parisian, “you deserve a 
better fate ! But patience ; it will come ! Filial devo- 
tion will have its recompense, and the energy and 
courage of him who is to be your companion in this 
life. Mademoiselle, will also be rewarded ! ” 

While they were thus talking the night had advanced. 
M. Lafleur smoked a final pipe, discreetly puffing out- 
of-doors the clouds of his doubtful tobacco. 

At last, bed-time came. Yégor and the Parisian bade 
the young girl and her brother good-night and retired 
to their hut. 

The preparations for bed did not cost them much 
toil : the two men put on fur night-shirts or kuchlan- 
kas ; each of them crawled, feet first, into a large 
reindeer skin sack, burying himself up to the head, and 
sleep came quickly. The dog Wab kept guard over 
all. 

Suddenly, a little before midnight, the guests of the 
forest were awakened by a strange noise made by the 
cracking, crunching and fall of trees amid a great crash 
of branches. Roars of animals and plaintive cries 
mingled with it. Wab uttered furious howls. 

On opening their eyes, Yégor and his companion saw 
the sky red with fire. Masses of ruddy smoke rolled 
across it, whirling one about another. A strojig odor 
of burning green wood was everywhere. 


THE EXILES. 117 

At this sight they stood terror-stricken and over- 
whelmed. 

“ The forest is on fire ! ” cried M. Lafieur. 

Yégor was already hurrying towards Nadêge’s hut. 

lie found her up. She had seen the first streaks of 
light in the sky, but had taken them for the effect of 
the aurora borealis. Little Ladislas, thinking it all a 
dream, was rubbing his eyes. 

“ The forest is in fiâmes ! ” said Yégor. 

“ Then we are lost ! ” cried Nadège, with a look of 
despair. “ Oh ! Yègor ! that after suffering and hoping 
so much we should come here to die ! Ah ! if I could 
have foreseen it ! At Irkoutsk, at least, I should have 
been buried beside my father ! ” 

And she burst into tears. 

“ You take alarm too quickly, dearest,” said Yégor, 
grasping her hands; “you despair too soon! Am I 
not here ? Are we not resolved, all of us, to perish 
if necessary to save you ?” 

“ Oh ! see how the flames are advancing ! ” cried she. 

“ Fear nothing, Nadège ! I wilF save you ! ” cried 
Yégor ; “ we will save you ! But do not paralyze our 
strength.” 

“Be calm, be calm, my children ! ” said M. Lafieur. 

“ Let us effect our retreat together and in good order. 
We must not separate. I will be your guide.” 

‘‘But we cannot abandon our camp possessions,” ^ 
observed Yegor, “our garments and our provisions! 

If we do, what will become of us?” 


118 


THE EXILES. 


“And the horses? ” said the little Pole, on perceiving 
the three animals which, in their fright, were tugging 
at their ropes. 

“ The horses? ” said M. Lafleur. “ It will suffice to 
release them. Their instinct will teach them how to 
escape without us.” 

Yegor set the horses at liberty. 

Nadège hastily gathered the objects which filled her 
hut, and, first of all, the precious manuscript — her 
father’s songs of exile ; Ladislas made bundles of them. 
Yegor and the Parisian attended to the clothing and 
food. 

“Above everything,” said Yégor, stoutly working 
away, “ we must be careful of our stock of powder ! ” 

At last, they set out, now preceded, now followed by 
Wab. 

The conflagration increased with frightful rapidity. 
The larches, pines and all the resinous trees flamed like 
immense torches. The tallest of these trees, burning 
from root to crown, rose in close ranks like enormous 
pillars of fire. The flames, kept from ascending by the 
wind, extended their ravages afar. The huge branches 
detached themselves from the trunks with a crash, and, 
an instant after, the giants of the forest fell, one upon 
another, with hollow thuds. 

Fire-brands and sparks, forcibly hurled into space, 
fell everywhere like incendiary fuses, kindling new 
conflagrations. A shower of fire accompanied them. 
On some elevated points, groves of tall trees, with their 


THE EXILES. 


119 


upper branches burning, suggested light-houses over- 
looking a sea of fire, in which were surging hither and 
thither, like fire-ships, lofty ridges of flame. 

Soon this immense furnace spread around it insup- 
portable heat; the conflagration fanned by the wind 
transformed this abandoned boreal region into a torrid 
zone. Here and there, a huge bird was seen, borne 
away in the tempest of fire and smoke and recalling the 
fabled phœnix reproduced from the flames of its funeral 
pile. 

Wolves, foxes, wild sheep, hares, and even brown 
bears were fleeing in terror, pursued by an intense 
light ; heath-cocks skimmed along the ground, uttering 
half-stifled cries. 

The fugitives, struggling beneath burdens much too 
heavy for them, although they had sacrificed a portion 
of their possessions, marched straight ahead, without 
turning around and with but one thought, one aim : to 
escape being burned alive. 

They advanced through a fiery semi-circle, which 
was rapidly gaining upon them and bringing its two 
extremities closer and closer together as if to stop them 
in their flight. Yégor noted the progress of the confla- 
gration with despairing gaze, but took good care not to 
communicate his terrible apprehensions to his compan- 
ions. 

Suddenly, Nadège stopped and said to him in a faint 
voice : 

“ I can walk no longer, Yégor ! ” 


120 


THE EXILES. 


“ What is the matter ? ” asked the young man. 

“ I don’t know — emotion — fear, perhaps. My limbs 
bend beneath me. It is impossible for me to advance 
another step.” 

“ Then, I will carry you,” answered he, resolutely 

He cast aside his burden and, seizing the young girl 
in his arms, bore her courageously away. 

Nadège noticed the advancing flames and compre- 
hended, as Yégor had done, that they would speedily 
cut off their retreat Î 

“ Oh ! heaven ! ” cried she. “ I am retarding your 
pace and exposing you all to death ! ” 

“ No, no ! ” said Yégor. “We are getting along very 
rapidly, and you are no heavier than a turtle-dove ! ” 

“ But, Yégor, see the flames which the wind prevents 
from rising above the trees. They will soon be upon 
us; already the smoke stifles me. Save yourself — 
save Ladislas! Hasten — hasten! If necessary, sac- 
rifice me 1 ” 

“Sacrifice you, Nadège ! How can you talk in that 
way ? If you die, it will be only after I myself have 
succumbed.” 

“ Ah ! this is too much ! ” murmured Nadège. “ I 
can hold out no longer. It seems to me that my life is 
leaving me. Yégor ! adieu ! but never forget me ! ” 

As, in a feeble voice, she uttered these words, which 
the roar of the conflagration would have overpowered, 
had not Yégor gathered them from the lips which mur- 
mured them, Nadège lost consciousness. 


THE EXILES. 


121 


In the prevailing ruddy light, Yégor did not perceive 
her pallor ; but he saw that her eyes were closed and 
realized that she had swooned. 

“ What is the trouble ? ” cried M. Lafleur, who, with 
Ladislas, was a few steps in advance. 

“ Ah ! see, my dear Monsieur ! ” answered the young 
man. “ She looks as though she were dead ! ” 

“ It will amount to nothing ! ” replied the Parisian, 
briskly. “ But the accident is to be regretted. Where 
is the package you were carrying?” 

“ I left it at the foot of a tree ; it contained all the 
little possessions of the dear child. The torrent is not 
far distant, is it ? ” 

“No ; I hear it,” said M. Lafleur. “A dash of cold 
water will revive her.” 

“ Let us hasten on.” 

Now, blazing fire-brands fell upon their path and it 
was necessary to step over them. Several times 
Nadege’s dress narrowly escaped taking fire. The 
smoke grew thick and rendered their progress uncer- 
tain. Happily, the noise of the torrent already rose 
above the din of the forest, shaken to its very founda- 
tion by the scourge which was devastating it. 

At last, M. Lafleur saw the torrent. 

“We are saved! ” cried he. 

The torrent was broad enough to oppose to the 
ravages of the conflagration an insurmountable barrier. 
Yégor found a ford, and, in the sinister light of the 
flow of flame from which they had all just escajjed, 
8 


122 


THE EXILES. 


attempted to cross it. While the Parisian and the lad 
were disembarrassing themselves of the burdens they 
had carried, Yégor passed over the torrent, clasping 
Nadège convulsively in his arms, and deposited her 
safe and sound on the other bank. 

M. Lafleur aided Ladislas to pass from one stone to 
another. 

At the spot where Yégor had lain Nadège upon the 
moss, an out-jutting rock formed a suitable temporary 
shelter. 

‘‘I trust her to you, Monsieur Lafleur ! ” cried Yégor. 
“ I am going to try to recover what I abandoned.” 

“ What, Yégor ! are you going back ? ” 

“ Stop him, stop him, Monsieur Lafleur ! ” exclaimed 
Ladislas, who, kneeling beside Nadège, was bathing 
her forehead with a piece of dampened linen. 

But Yégor was already far away. 

“ Stop whom ? ” asked the young girl, coming to 
herself. 

“ Yégor,” answered the lad, sadly. 

“Where is he?” demanded Nadège, lifting herself 
up and looking around in fright. “ Ah ! I remember : 
he carried me away and saved me from death ! Where 
is he ? ” 

“He will return shortly,” responded M. Lafleur, 
affecting an assurance he was far from feeling. 

Nadège opened her eyes to their full extent and 
peered excitedly through the smoke ; she clasped and 
wrung her hands in unspeakable anguish. The precip- 


THE EXILES. 


123 


itate beatings of her heart marked eternities of suf- 
fering. 

“ Ah ! heaven ! why did he return to that furnace ! ” 
murmured she. “Was it not enough to have escaped 
from it! You should have prevented him, Monsieur 
Lafleur!” 

“It was for you that he returned,” answered the 
latter to justify himself ; “ it was to bring back to you 
— if not too late — your little possessions. Mademoiselle.” 

Ladislas had recrossed the torrent, and, without 
straying too far, eagerly gazed into the forest. 

“ There he is ! ” cried he, at last. 

“Ah!” exclaimed Nadège, in a transport of joy 
which came near causing her to lose consciousness a 
second time. 

Yégor appeared, bearing an enormous package on his 
shoulders. His dog, which had remained behind to 
keep watch over the abandoned property, was running 
before him. 

“ Come here,” began M. Lafleur, ready to administer 
a reprimand. “Come here, Yégor. Great heavens! 
do you know that you have filled us with horrible 
fears ! ” 

The young man laid down his burden and crossed 
the torrent. His face was radiant with joy. He saw 
Nadège moved and happy at seeing him again. 

“ Oh ! why did you expose yourself thus ? ” said she, 
in a tone of reproach. 

“ Should I have allowed you to lose your souvenirs, 


124 


THE EXILES. 


your relics, the most precious things your father left 
you?” 

“ Thank you, Yégor ! ” said Nadège. 

She seized one of his hands and kissed it. Yégor 
felt a tear of gratitude fall upon it. 

“ What do you think of this burning of the forest? ” 
asked M. Lafleur, who, standing with his hands in the 
pockets of his pantaloons, seemed as if he were looking 
at an exhibition of fireworks at the Barrière du Trône. 
“It is, indeed, a marvellous and splendid spectacle ! 
Look : the sky is almost as red as the glowing coals 
which mark the site of the forest. Poor forest ! it will 
soon be nothing but cinders! But it would be more 
beautiful,” added he, with a sigh, “ if we had not had 
to pay the cost of the display ! ” 

The fact is that the fugitives had lost much, in their 
precipitate flight, by abandoning a large portion of 
those articles so laboriously collected and transported 
to the forest with so much trouble, articles necessary 
to assure the success of their perilous enterprise. 

“Where is our goat?” asked Nadège. 

“ And the little kids ? ” added Ladislas. 

M. Lafleur answered : 

“ Bah ! who cares for a goat except to get its milk Î ” 


THE EXILES. 


125 


CHAPTER X. 

ALMOST A TRAGEDY. 

HAT was the cause of this frightful conflagra- 



? T tion? Who was its author? Should it be 
regarded merely as a simple accident, the result of 
some hunter’s imprudence, as Y<^gor had at first sup- 
posed, or as an act of aggression ? 

To explain this episode of our tale, we must recur to 
some facts already known. 

Yegor and M. Lafleur, after having hurled down the 
rock upon the chief of police, thought the latter 
crushed, buried forever beneath the broken fragments 
of the block. 

They were deceived : Yermac still lived. 

When he saw the rock totter above him, quickly 
dropping his horse’s bridle, he threw himself against 
the vertical wall ; the latter presented a slight projec- 
tion at about a man’s height Avhich preserved him. 
However, some fragments wounded liim on the right 
leg. Yermac had only the loss of his horse to regret. 

Screened by the pines dragged along by the rock in 
its fall and, besides, having in front of him the largest 
portion of the enormous mass precipitated from the 
sides of the mountain, he was concealed from every 
eye. As a prudential measure, he remained in this 
refuge all night. 


126 


THE EXILES. 


The next day, thanks to bathing it with cold water, 
the swelling on his leg diminished ; he cut a cane for 
himself and managed to reach a Yakoute yourte, 
erectèd on one of the slopes of the Verkho-Yansk 
Mountains. He remained there only long enough to 
take some nourishment and to borrow a Siberian horse. 
Then, despite his wound, he at once resumed the pur- 
suit of the fugitives. 

Shortly afterwards, he met a patrol of Cossacks on 
horseback. These men, questioned in regard to the 
fugitives, whom, as Yermac thought, they must have 
passed, asserted that they had seen no one. 

Yermac informed them that he was the chief of 
police of the government capital, and established his 
identity by means of documents he bore about him. 
Then, he directed the Cossacks to notify the chiefs of 
the posts — ostrogs — that several exiles had fled from 
Yakoutsk, accompanied by a foreigner, a Frenchman, 
and gave them the descriptions of Yégor and his 
companions. 

Some hours later, Yermac was walking beside the 
vast forest in the midst of which the fugitives had 
taken refuge. He passed it, and then discovering no 
sign of them beyond it, retraced his steps, convinced 
that they had penetrated into the forest and had not 
yet quitted it. 

What could they be waiting for, hidden in this spot ? 
Without doubt, they wished to put off the scent who- 
ever might be seeking to recapture them. 


THE EXILES. 


/ 

How was he to find them ? How was he to dislodge 
them ? He was alone and wounded ; they were numer- 
ous and well armed. He was alone and the forest 
stretched over an immense space. The struggle was 
too unequal. 

He reflected for a long while, and, at last, thought 
he had found an auxiliary. Why should he not employ 
a method used to destroy wild beasts ? In his police- 
man’s eyes, these people were criminals: Yégor, Nadège 
and the lad, persons condemned to labor for life, and 
M. Lafleur an assassin. 

He at first discarded this idea of setting fire to the 
forest, but it persistently returned on the succeeding 
days. He finally became used to it and found it rea- 
sonable. The promichlénicks (trappers) fire the forests 
to drive away by means of the smoke the swarms of 
mosquitoes which incommode them ! Besides, the 
slender supply of provisions obtained from the Yakoute 
was diminishing, and, to cap the climax, tlie liorse 
loaned by the nomad, wearying, perhaps, of its idleness, 
one morning quitted the grass upon which it was feed- 
ing in perfect freedom and returned to its master’s 
yourte. 

While making up his mind what to do, Yermac 
climbed an eminence. There, overlooking the immense 
plateau black with pines and larches, pressed and 
heaped together as if to favor a conflagration, he sougld 
for a spot in which to kindle the fire. Should it be 
to the east or the west? Two parallel mountain spurs 


128 


THE EXILES. 


enclosed the vast forest as with insurmountable walls. 
To start the fire at one of these extremities would be 
to force the fugitives to make their exit by the other. 
On the eastern side, fiight was possible only by passing 
through a steep defile with bare sides. Yermac saw 
how easy it would be for him to wait for them there, 
concealed behind a rock. 

When his plan was at last settled upon, he decided 
to devote the forest to a general conflagration. He 
piled dry branches and brushwood at the feet of the 
resinous trees, and, when the night was far enough 
advanced, set fire to them. 

Then Yermac posted himself on the side opposite to 
the conflagration, in the defile which presented the sole 
means of free egress. Hidden behind rocks inter- 
mingled with dwarf cedars, he watched with an eager 
eye for the explosion of the volcano. 

He had not long to wait; and when the plateau 
resembled a sheet of fire and the entire sky was as red 
as blood, Yermac recoiled in terror from his work of 
destruction. He passed long hours in anxiety, asking 
himself if he had not gone too far! — if he had not 
devoted to certain death the unfortunates hidden in 
the depths of the forest ! Finally, the gray of a tardy 
dawn mingled with the reflections of the conflagration. 

The chief of police saw two Siberian horses dash 
madly towards him — they were Yegor’s horses, the third 
having, doubtless, perished. His suppositions were 
verified. He could not doubt that these horses be- 


THE EXILES. 129 

longed to the fugitives But why did not the fugitives 
themselves appear? 

He had asked himself this disturbing question many 
times, when he saw, emerging from the defile, a group 
of straggling fugitives, whose huge shadows, produced 
by the glowing furnace they had left behind them, 
stretched out fantastically in front of them. 

“ They are here at last ! ” cried he. 

He examined his arms — his gun and pistols: they 
were in good condition. But his astonishment was 
great when, on raising his head, he counted seven men 
advancing in the light of tlie conflagration, accoutred 
like veritable robbers of the steppe and armed to the 
teeth. These people had perceived him and were 
coming towards him. They believed themselves tracked 
and smoked out by patrols of Cossacks, and prepared 
to sell their lives dearly. 

When within range, two of them aimed their guns 
at the chief of police and fired. 

“A declaration of war! ” said Yermac to himself, as 
the balls hummed about his ears like swift-winged bees. 
“ I have a determined party to deal with ! These 
fellows are, without doubt, brigands, and, though my 
authority does not extend to this district, it is not I 
who will shrink from the new duty the rascals impose 
upon me ! I will reply to them in their own fashion ! ” 

At this he stepped behind a bush, which covered 
him completely, and discharged both barrels of his gun 
at the advancing group. 


130 


THE EXILES. 


Then, these more than strange-looking men, instead 
of remaining massed, scattered. As they marched 
straight towards the bush, they fired a shower of balls 
at the audacious man who had the courage to await 
their coming. 

Soon Yermac was hemmed in on all sides and 
entirely at the discretion of his aggressors. The latter 
took position — they utilized everything: trees, rocks 
and inequalities of the ground — and, slowly, giving 
themselves time to take steady aim, they made Yermac 
a target. 

The chief of police did not lose his presence of mind 
and bravely sustained this disloyal attack. Three times 
he reloaded his gun ; he fired five shots at one of his 
adversaries, the one most advanced on his left, then, 
wheeling rapidly about, discharged his weapon to the 
right at a second, who, surprised as he was passing 
from one tree to another to advance a few mètres, was 
hit full in the breast. 

To the howl uttered by the latter as he fell, his com- 
panions’ roars of anger responded: the band of gold- 
robbers, who had terrified the country, had lost their 
chief. 

In an instant, Yermac was flooded with projectiles. 

He would infallibly be forced to succumb, for, besides 
the fact that flight was repugnant to him, he well knew 
that to turn his back would be but an indifferent means 
of ameliorating his perilous situation. 

Suddenly, one of the assailants uttered a cry : it was 


THE EXILES. 


131 


an invitation to his companions to stop the attack ; and 
Yermac was much surprised to see come towards him 
unarmed the adversary of the left, against whom most 
of his efforts had been directed. He was a very young 
man, beardless, with black eyes and the dull complexion 
of a Slavonian, and clad in the skin garments of the 
Yakoutes. 

What was Yermac’s stupefaction on recognizing in 
this brigand of the steppes, seen in the ruddy light of 
the glowing conflagration, his son Dimitri ! 

“ Father I ” cried the latter, “ it is I ! ” 

“ Wretch !” exclaimed Yermac. “You! You — 
with them ! — with the gold-robbers ! ” 

“ Have no further fear,” said Dimitri, and he signed 
to his companions to withdraw. 

“ So, robber and assassin, you were on the point of 
becoming a parricide ! ” observed the unfortunate 
father, a prey to genuine despair. 

“Father,” said Dimitri, timidly, “I have never been 
an assassin — never, I swear it ! ” 

“Parricide, you became one,” pursued Yermac, 
“ when in depriving me of honor you took from me 
more than life ! Do you know what I was compelled 
to do to expiate your crimes ? Did you doubt my vol- 
untary humiliation when I abandoned my position as 
Ipravsnik? Have you thought of the contempt and 
affronts I was forced to endure while a convict-guard ? ” 
“ Father, the iniquities of which you have been the 
victim, this odious censure and this exile which you did 


132 


THE EXILES. 


not deserve have troubled my mind. I have suffered 
greatly in seeing you suffer. I rose in insurrection 
against that blind and criminal society of which you 
had so much to complain ; I wished to avenge you ! ” 

“ One obtains vengeance by rehabilitating himself in 
the eyes of those who believe him guilty, or who dis- 
believing his guilt affirm it,” said Yermac, sternly. 
“ Injustice must be made to bend. And now — ” 

“ And now what do you wish should become of me ? ” 
interrupted Dimitri. “ I cannot return among honest 
people — that is certain ! Abandon me to my fate ! I 
will live despised by all and by myself! ” 

“No ; you can die ! ” 

“ What?” 

“ I say that you can expiate your crimes, wipe out 
your shame and restore me the honor of my name — ” 
“How?” 

“ By death ! ” 

“ You wish me to die ? ” said Dimitri, with a sad 
smile. “ I have thought of death many times, for life 
is a burden to me, and the hours when I feel ready to 
deliver myself from it are growing more and more fre- 
quent. Patience, father ; soon, perhaps, you will hear 
no more of your son ! ” 

“That is not what I wish. Justice demands a less 
voluntary and more immediate expiation having the 
value and force of punishment. An ignominious death 
is required, and you are going to receive it at my 
hands ! ” 


THE EXILES. 


133 


“ A father kill his son ! ” 

“ There is here neither father nor son ! There is, on 
the other hand, far from every tribunal, a man whom 
the law has consecrated a judge, who has never laid 
aside that character despite his unwonted forfeiture, 
and who should pronounce your death sentence ! That 
sentence I will execute. Follow me ! ” 

He dragged him behind some rocks which hid both 
of them from the sight of Dimitri’s companions. 
The latter seemed to have divined a stormy explanation 
between the father and son, and held themselves in 
readiness to fly to the assistance of their comrade. 

Dimitri, livid, regarded his father with that fixed 
glance which a criminal fastens on his executioner at 
the moment of execution, for the young man felt 
that he was about to receive his death at his father’s 
hands. 

“ Father, your will be done ! ” murmured he. 

“There are words which should not be profaned,” 
said Yermac, in a stern voice. “ Give me your belt.” 

“ For what purpose ? ” 

“ To tie you to a tree.” 

“ It is useless ; you shall see that I know how to die. 
When I am dead, you will have to push me to make 
me fall.” 

“ Obey ; this binding is a humiliation to which you 
should submit.” 

. “ If SÔ, I consent to it. Do as you will.” 

Dimitri took off and handed him his long woollen 


134 


THE EXILES. 


belt. His father, pushing him against a larch, passed 
it around his body and tied it in a knot behind the 
tree ; then he placed himself before his son. He drew 
from the leather belt, which kept them at his sides, his 
two revolvers and said, with emotion which he did not 
strive to hide : 

“ You are about to die, Dimitri — alas ! in this place ! 
Who could have told me so the day you were born ! — 
Ah! if your mother — Dimitri, turn your thoughts to 
God! Pray, my child!” 

“ But, first, father, shall I have your pardon after I 
am dead?” 

“Yes, when you have expiated — ” 

A cold sweat broke out on the chief of police’s fore- 
head. The judge was weakening in the father. 

“ Farewell, father ; I die repentant ! ” murmured 
Dimitri. 

And he closed his eyes. 

Yermac drew back three paces. He held one of his 
pistols in each hand. He aimed them at Dimitri’s 
breast, ready to fire. This horrible scene was illumi- 
nated by the bloody glare thrown from the destroyed 
forest. 

Suddenly, Yermac staggered, sank down, and lay 
stretched upon the ground ; he seemed stricken with 
that death which he wished to give. 

“ Father ! ” cried Dimitri, with a sob of anguish. 

The chief of police could not hear him. He lay 
deprived of sense, his face distorted and his eyes pro- 
truding from their sockets. 


THE EXILES. 


135 


“Father! it is I who should die and not you! — 
father, return to life ! Hear my voice ! ” 

Dimitri’s companions, uneasy at his disappearance, 
ran up. While some released the young man from the 
tree, others bent over the stiffened body of his father. 

“ Is he yet alive ? ” asked Dimitri, approaching. 

“No; he is dead — he is entirely cold.” 

“ Oh ! father, father, pardon me ! ” cried he, beside 
himself. “ I have killed you ! ” 

And as if he feared lest the arm of the corpse might 
suddenly lift itself to strike him, he dare not give his 
father a final embrace. 

One of the gold-robbers, imposing silence on the rest 
and demanding attention, then spoke. He was a tall 
and sinewy man, gifted with an intelligent countenance. 

“Dimitri,” said he, taking the young man by the 
arm, “you must be our chief! Your father has killed 
Koskintine.” 

“Why should Dimitri be our chief?” asked another 
of the men, a violent fellow, a brute with red hair and 
a hard and menacing look. “We shall see!” added 
he, without waiting for an answer. 

“ He must be our chief because it is in accordance 
with the custom of our band, Ivan ! The oldest is the 
chief, and, when he fails to respond, the youngest. 
Dimitri is the youngest among us.” 

“ I will restore your harmony,” said Dimitri, at last. 
“ My friends, I am about to forsake you. Leave me. 
If my father should recover consciousness — ” 


136 


THE EXILES. 


“If he should recover consciousness,” said Ivan, 
“ he would kill you. He is not the man to pardon you. 
But reassure yourself — he is really dead. Come witli 
us.” 

“No; depart without me — leave me here,” said 
Yermac’s son. “And strive to quit your evil ways Î ” 

“ What sort of a song are you singing now ? ” said 
Ivan. “ Since you are our chief, follow us ; you can 
think over matters later.” 

“ Ivan is right ! ” cried the entire band in chorus. 

Dimitri protested, but the gold-robbers laid violent 
hands upon him and dragged him away with them. 

A moment afterwards, they had vanished behind an 
elevation, and there remained, upon the spot where the 
terrible scene had taken place and in the vicinity of the 
conflagration, only the chief of police, whose body had 
been hastily covered with branches cut from the trees, 
and, twenty mètres away, the corpse of the brigand 
Koskintine stripped to the waist. 

In the distance, the forest had flnished burning. 
Here and there, arose, from half-extinguished clumps, 
columns of smoke like broad watered ribbons. The 
day, slow to come and very short at this season, at 
length dawned, gradually blanching that which yet 
remained in the sky of the glare of the conflagration. 


THE EXILES. 


137 


CHAPTER XL 


THE PRISONEB 


T this moment, from behind an undulation of the 



soil, rose up an enormous animal, a bear with 
brown fur and black limbs, the shoulders of which 
were encircled by a white band resembling a collar. 

The beast stopped and suddenly showed fearful 
energy, occasioned, doubtless, by the gnawings of its 
stomach. It went to the brigand, who lay stretched in 
death upon the snow tinged pink by the conflagration 
of the forest. It walked around the corpse, smelled 
it and, taking a convenient position, calmly began to 
devour it. 

When the creature had swallowed the flesh, which it 
tore to pieces with its sharp nails and crunched with 
its powerful jaws, it went, dripping with blood, towards 
the chief of police. Was the latter about to be eaten 
in his turn? The bear turned the motionless and para- 
lyzed body and, afterwards, methodically, turned it 
back ; then, it seated itself upon its haunches, reflected 
for an instant and decided, like the good economist it 
was, that, having eaten enough for that day and even for 
several days, it should reserve the rest of its provisions 
for a time of need. 

It seized Yermac by the arm and, without sinking 


9 


138 


THE EXILES. 


its pointed teeth too deeply in the flesh, dragged his 
body in the direction of a little clump of dwarf trees. 

Arrived there, it dug a hiding-place in the earth with 
its nails, in which it carefully laid the chief of police. 

The bear broke some small branches, artfully placed 
them over the food magazine it had just established, 
and covered the whole with snow, which it deftly pro- 
jected with its hind paws, turning its back to tlie little 
mound. 

This done, it went to complete its digestion some- 
what further off and, perhaps, to scoff at some brown 
confrère having a less keen scent and less activity. 

Meanwhile, the fugitives — Yégor, Nadège, M. La- 
fleur and the little Pole — after having escaped from 
the torrent of flames which ran from south to north, 
were returning, skirting the immense incandescent 
furnace, over the eastern road, by which Tekel and, the 
liberating sledges would arrive in a few days. 

They had heaped upon two of their liorses, which 
they had succeeded in recovering, the pologue, some 
saved provisions, the arms and the clothing, and were 
progressing, Yègor and M. Lafleur each leading a horse 
by the bridle. They were advancing slowly by the 
intermittent light of the conflagration. 

An hour after the burial of the chief of police, the 
fugitives, reached the spot where the bloody fight 
between Yermac and the gold-robbers had occurred. 
They saw blood scattered about in profusion, and the 
remains of a devoured human corpse. All stood mute 


THE EXILES. 


139 


with, amazement at this hideous spectacle. On looking 
closer, Ladislas perceived a trace of blood upon the 
snow, as if a wounded man had dragged himself away. 
He imparted his discovery to Nadège. 

“ There must be a wounded man not far from here I ” 
cried the young girl. “ See this blood. Messieurs, and 
this trodden snow. Oh ! if we have come soon enough 
to save one of our kind ! ” 

“Let us look into this matter,” said Yégor. 

They fastened the horses to the trees. 

In a neighboring valley, a growl was heard. It was 
the bear with the white collar. 

“We must not stray too far!” said M. Lafleur, 
prudently holding his gun in his hand, prepared for 
whatever might happen. 

The whole party advanced to the mound beneath 
which Yermac lay. This hiding-place seemed myste- 
rious to them. 

Yègor and the little Pole got down upon their knees 
and scraped away the snow with their hands, while M. 
Lafleur, with his gun upon his shoulder, kept guard 
over them. 

The snow removed and the branches taken from 
their position, in the light reflected by the clouds of 
smoke hovering over the forest in combustion, Yégor, 
Ladislas and Nadège saw a man — a dead man interred. 

“ A corpse ! ” exclaimed they, simultaneously, with 
different degrees of emotion. 

A sigh answered them. 


140 


THE EXILES. 


“ He is not dead I ” cried Yégor. And he felt his 
heart. “ It beats strongly ! ” added he, full of hope. 

“ Oh I what good fortune for us ! ” cried Nadège. 
“ My friends, we are allowed to do a good action — 
which will somewhat console us for the cruel extremi- 
ties to which you were compelled to resort : you can 
restore this life in place of the other life in the defiles ! 
Confidence, Yégor! This is a good omen for the 
success of your courageous enterprise ! ” 

The chief of police was placed in a sitting posture 
by Yégor, aided by M. Lafleur, who had forgotten the 
bear and its growls. 

Yégor, frightened at seeing the distorted features 
and closed eyes of the chief of police, thought the 
sight a vision of his brain. 

“ Ah ! Nadège ! ” cried he, “ do not speak of that 
man of the defiles — you fill me with terror ! ” 

M. Lafleur, with open mouth, was also staring with 
fright. 

Yermac, at last, opened his eyes. 

“ Thank you ! ” said he. ^ 

“ It is, indeed, the chief of police ! *’ stammered 
Yégor, in extreme astonishment. 

“ Whoever you are, I thank you ! ” again said the 
exhumed man. You have taken a heavy mountain 
from my breast.” 

The reflections of the conflagration grew more 
intense, suddenly increased, with cracklings indicating 
that the flames had found new food. 


THE EXILES. 


141 


“What! is it you, Monsieur Semdnoff? — is it you, 
Monsieur Lafleur? Do I owe my life to you — to you! 
Where is my son? What have the}^ done with Dimitri ! 
It is night — and I am wounded in the right arm — I 
am losing blood. Have you, Séménoff and M. Lafleur, 
come to finish me ? Did you bury me alive beneath 
the snow, as the other day you strove to bury me alive 
beneath the rocks? That was cowardly. But explain 
yourselves — speak ! ” 

Yegor and M. Lafleur had lost the power of speech. 
Nadège was on the point of fainting, and little Ladislas, 
after having retreated several steps, was making pre- 
cipitate signs of the cross, one after another. 

“ Monsieur Yermac,” said the exile, finally, “ there is 
in all this the intervention of a higher power! It is to 
aid you that we are here. Fear nothing. And if I 
have done you grievous wrongs, I offer to repair them. 
But you yourself do not attribute to chance the strange 
circumstance that, after having left you for dead in the 
defiles of the Verkho-Yansk Mountains, we should dis- 
inter you in this spot ! You are wounded ; we will 
care for you.” 

M. Lafleur added a few words which enlightened the 
chief of police as to how he came in the hole. As a 
commentary, the bear was still growling in the dis- 
tance. As a further proof, M. Lafleur showed the 
remains of the corpse spread out upon the ground. 
Everything was explained. 

“ I thank you. Messieurs,” said Yermac, getting upon 


142 


THE EXILES. 


his feet. “ I am in better condition than I thought. 
So we are quits, Monsieur Séménoff. Now, you can no 
longer deny that you are in full flight, you and she 
whom you call your betrothed, as well as her brother ! 
I arrest you all three ! ” 

Yegor made a movement, Nadège grew pale and 
little Ladislas burst into tears; but M. Lafleur said, 
with a sneer : 

“ You are joking, my poor Yermac ! Why, you can 
scarcely stand, you are alone, wounded, and far from 
all help — yet you talk as if you had a squad of Cos- 
sacks at your back ! Don’t get angry ; we shall quietly 
proceed on our way — and if you are not satisfied, 
another time we will let the bears of Siberia devour 
the agents of authority Î ” 

“ You have strength on your side. Messieurs, but I 
represent the law,” said the chief of police, with 
dignity. 

“ On the faith of a Parisian, what a singular preten- 
sion ! ” cried M. Lafleur. 

“ Strength should remain with the law,” resumed 
Yermac. 

“ Well, if you have the strength, show it ! ’ 

Yéger interposed: 

“ Do you know why you have not the strength, 
Yermac? Because your demand is not founded on jus- 
tice. You have before you innocent victims — I pass 
over the tragic incidents of your pursuit. We, are 
martyrs of oppression, and you cannot make the least 


THE EXILES. 


143 


impression on us by appealing to our consciences : that 
is why you are weak, without prestige and really 
disarmed.” 

‘‘We shall see, Messieurs. You are going towards 
the east. I shall return towards the west. May each 
one of us keep his confidence.” 

M. Lafleur made a sign to Yégor. They consulted 
together hastily, while Yermac was looking at the 
roads, uncertain as to the direction he ought to take. 

“ You are in our power,” said Yégor to him. 

“There are several of you and I am alone. The 
game is not equal. I submit,” answered Yermac, 
whose visage, impenetrable as granite, betrayed not 
the least emotion. 

“Your submission is not enough for us,” said Yégor. 
“We may meet patrols, or stumble on some post of 
Cossacks. What would you do in that case ? ” 

“My duty.” 

“ You would denounce us ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

Yégor was silent for an instant, admiring Yermac’s 
firmness and courage, and thinking how he could 
secure his silence without staining himself with a 
crime. 

“We could cause your death,” said he, at length, 
“ by fastening you to a tree ; you would be devoured 
by the bears. But I wish you no harm. You have 
done your duty. Free, you were an obstacle in our 
path — that is why we wished to suppress you. Now 


144 


THE EXILES. 


that you are in our hands, now that fate has made you 
our prisoner, will you give us your word that you will 
not seek to escape from us ? ” 

‘‘ No.” 

What a strange nature was that of Yermac, who 
discharged his policeman’s functions without the least 
passion, with the absence of every interest. Duty and 
law! — these two words summed up for him life, the 
world and society. His conscience, pure, sincere, just 
and free from every secret end, had made him an 
austere, impassible and impenetrable man. He looked 
his adversaries in the face, as the lion looks at its foes. 
Disgusted at hiding himself, at crouching in a corner 
to await the passage of his prey and hurl himself upon 
it unexpectedly, he acted openly, loyally, even with 
those who were in insurrection against the law. 

“Monsieur the chief of police of Yakoutsk,” said M. 
Lafleur, “we cannot see things in the same light as 
you. You will remain with us, if you please, until we 
judge your retreat indifferent to our safety. You are 
our prisoner.” 

“ But I am wounded ! ” 

“ Another reason for remaining with us. I will cure 
you : I know all about wounds.” 

“You ! — a dancing-master ! — a maker of women’s 
hats I — a manufacturer of champagne ! ” 

“ I began life as an herbalist. Monsieur ! But have 
you no weapons?” 

“ I had a gun and pistols,” said the chief of police, 
lookinginthe direction of the field of strife. 


THE EXILES. 


145 


As he finished speaking, Ladislas advanced, bearing 
slung across his back the very gun and showing in his 
belt the very pistols in question. 

“Keep those arms, my child,” said M. Lafieur to 
him. 

“ So you disarm me. However, my safety 
demands — ” 

“We will protect you. Monsieur ! ” said the dancing- 
master. 

“A moment will come. Monsieur Yermac,” adde(f 
Yegor, “when I will return to you even the governor 
general’s gun, begging you to restore it to him with my 
compliments. Well, Messieurs, suppose we pitch our 
tents and prepare our camp for the night.” 

Meanwhile, the evening had arrived, and, in the 
distance, the last fires of the consumed forest were 
dying out. 


146 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XII. 

A TREASURE-TROVE. 

^^‘VTOU are our prisoner on parole,” said M. Lafleur 

X to the chief of police. 

“I am your prisoner, if you will,” answered the 
latter, “but you are none the less the prisoners of the 
Czar, arrested in the act of violating the law by me, 
Yermac, chief of police of Yakoutsk. Your friends 
remain accused of an attempt to escape with armed 
hand, and you are aiding them.” 

“I shall not try to wriggle cut of that,” said M. 
Lafleur. 

It was not easy to make the arrangements for passing 
the night. The snow had again begun to fall. By the 
light of a lantern, Yégor and M. Lafleur made the 
couch of Nadège and her adopted brother against a 
high rock, using for that purpose the warmest furs they 
possessed. Some saplings formed the frame-work of a 
very low roof, which they covered with thick cloth. 

While these preparations were in progress, Nadège 
drew from a sack, which had happily escaped from the 
disaster, some blackish flour with which she half-filled 
a huge wooden porringer. She also poured in some 
cold water drawn from the torrent by Ladislas, and 
stirred the mixture with a spoon. The flour made of 


THE EXILES. 


147 


oats, dried in an oven and carefully sifted, swelled and 
overflowed the porringer. Nadège offered each one a 
share; after all, it was quite agreeable food. 

Yégor, the Parisian and Yermac at last rolled them- 
selves in the remaining furs. The dog Wab com- 
menced to walk around the tent and the bodies 
stretched upon the ground, which the snow, began to 
cover. Under the animal’s guard, everybody reposed 
from the multiplied emotions of the day. 

The first to awake — it was the chief of police — per- 
ceived the companions of his open air slumbers looking 
like small mounds beneath their coverings of snow, 
which, while imparting to them a certain amount of 
heat, gave them the appearance of lying under heaps 
of white feathers. 

Yermac, disturbed by their immobility, shook thém. 

M. Lafleur had some trouble to free his head. He 
appeared under the picturesque guise of the good man 
Winter, as seen in December in the windows of the 
Paris confectionery shops, with otter-skin hood pulled 
down about his eyes and spotted with snow, his hair 
powdered with hoar frost, his nose red and his gar- 
ments as white as those of a miller. 

“ Ah ! ” cried he, giving himself a toss, “ it is plainly 
to be seen that there are no gendarmes in the vicinity 
— otherwise, a slumberer beneath the stars in my vaga- 
bond condition could not be awakened by a member 
of the police force without danger of passing the suc- 
ceeding nights in the seclusion of a cell ! ” 


148 


THE EXILES. 


Yermac remained impassible ; and though his arm 
torn by the bear caused him horrible suffering, he 
allowed no evidence of it to be seen. M. Lafleur 
remembered his wound and wished to dress it ; the 
chief of police mechanically allowed him to do so. 

When the ex-herbalist had finished, he said : 

“ I presume that it is not your intention to remain 
eternally in this spot open to all the winds and exposed 
to every inclemency of the weather?” 

“No,” answered Yégor, joining the conversation; 
“ we are waiting here for a native sent by us to Zachi- 
versk, who is to bring us back two nartas drawn by 
reindeer.” 

“ But — it seems to me that you are taking me inta 
your confidence in regard — ” 

“To our plans?” interrupted Yégor. “Well, what 
of it ! Your loyalty, despite the language you have 
used, is a guarantee to me that I can enter into a free 
explanation with you.” 

“ You speak, perhaps, with too much confidence.” 

“We have a right to that confidence,” observed the 
Parisian, “for without us. Monsieur Yermac, the bear 
with the white collar would have been digesting you at 
this moment ! ” 

“ Yes, yes — you cpunt on holding me through grati- 
tude.” 

“We must, for the reason I have stated,” resumed 
Yégor, “remain as near as possible to the forest — I 
should say the site on which the forest stood. Can you 
account for this frightful disaster. Monsieur Yermac?” 


THE EXILES. 149 

“Yes,” said the latter; “it was I who set fire to the 
forest.” 

“ You ! ” cried the fugitives in one voice. 

“To dislodge you; I could not indefinitely await 
your good pleasure.” 

“But, wretch,” exclaimed Yégor, “you ran the risk 
of roasting us alive ! ” 

“ Of course ; I knew I was exposing you to that.” 

“And you did not shrink from such a horrible 
deed?” said Nadège. 

“Well, Monsieur Yermac,” observed M. Lafleur, 
“we are, indeed, square with you ; we were so, I see, 
even before the episode of the bear. Between us, the 
rock in the defiles was a mere nothing compared to the 
means you employ when 3^ou set yourself to work! ” 

“And the attack beside the pool? ” said Yermac. 

“We are square with you, I tell 3’ou,” replied the 
Parisian. “ Twice, it is true, you have escaped. But 
we were four in danger of death. Count up for your- 
self! You are still indebted to us for what we did for 
you in releasing you from the hiding-place of the bear 
with the white collar, the Ursus Collarius ! ” 

“ For a scientific man, you are a keen calculator, 
M. Lafleur ! ” 

“ Because I am somewhat of a merchant also, and 
know how to keep books. Your account balanced, I 
charge you anew with a miraculous resurrection ! ” 

“And your doctor’s fees? ” 

“ I pass them to proflt and loss.” 


150 


THE EXILES. 


M. liafleur, as he talked, beat his sides as the coach- 
men are accustomed to do in Paris. That, however, 
did not prevent him from being ready with his replies. 

That day was marked by a discovery made by 
Ladislas after breakfast — a breakfast which vied in 
frugality with the supper of the previous evening. 

With the aid of a few small branches, the lad had 
cleared away the snow from the vicinity of Nadege’s 
little tent. He then sat down on the ground, and, as 
h^ had seen M. Lafleur pick up pebbles and examine 
them to see if they were worthy of figuring in the new 
collection he had commenced, Ladislas imitated his 
actions. 

His eye was particularly attracted towards quite a 
large number of small, round stones of a yellowish 
green, which lay upon the rocky soil. He gathered 
them, and, after having displayed them for Nadège’s 
admiration, again squatted on the ground and began to 
throw them into the air, one after another, catching 
them in one hand with the address of a juggler. 

M. Lafleur, who arrived unexpectedly, was struck 
by the form and color of the stones, and upon exam- 
ining them exclaimed : 

“ What luck ! These are green emeralds of rare 
size and great value ! ” 

“ Are you certain. Monsieur Lafleur ? ” asked Nadège, 
w^ho already saw in perspective superb adornments for 
grand occasions. 

“ I tell you, Mademoiselle, that they are marvellous 


THE EXILES. 


151 


emeralds, the equals of which, perhaps, no court in 
Europe possesses.” 

The chief of police heard these words and approached, 
followed by Yégor. 

“Look, Monsieur,” said Ladislas to him. “M. 
Lafleur asserts that these are emeralds.” 

“I can readily believe it,” answered Yermac, after a 
brief examination. 

“ There can be no doubt about it,” said M. Lafleur. 
“ Glance at this one which is broken : the break has 
the requisite glassiness and roughness.” 

“ I have made a good day’s work, it seems ! ” cried 
the child. 

“ My little friend,” replied the chief of police, “ you, 
perhaps, do not know that all the precious stones dis- 
covered in Siberia belong to the Czar ! These must be 
sent to him, without retaining any!” 

“You are joking. Monsieur Yermac!” said Yégor. 
“ Always the Czar ! ” 

“ But it is the law ! ” 

“ Must we retrace our steps to lay at the feet of the 
Emperor these gewgaws with the like of which his 
treasury abounds ? ” 

“You are having your little laugh. I will charge 
myself with transporting them — without in the least 
incommoding you.” 

“It is you who are laughing now — and at our 
expense,” replied Yégor. 

“ Well, I see I must do as you like in this matter 


152 


THE EXILES. 


and must limit myself to making a note of the dis- 
covery.” 

“ Make as many notes as you please, my dear Mon- 
sieur Yermac,” said M. Lafleur, “and make them at 
your ease. For our part, we shall carefully put aside 
these little pebbles. They will be souvenirs of our 
rough experiences and of the time we passed in your 
company.” 

The incident had no other result. 

One day, two days passed ; it was just so much less 
to wait for the arrival of the nartas. The snow, which 
fell at shorter and shorter intervals, commenced to 
harden. The great highway of flight was preparing — 
broad, level and as vast as possible. 

The chief of police, his right arm in a sling, aided 
Nadège in the preparation of the food. To the dry 
fish and smoked salmon which the Russians call oukale, 
some of Yégor’s happy shots added a white hare and 
two heath-cocks ; finally, M. Lafleur killed a wild ram, 
which promised for the succeeding meals passable 
cutlets and legs of mutton. 

The third day, at supper time, the bivouac fire 
attracted a native woman, who, in regaining her yourte, 
had strayed a little from her road. 

On hearing the snow crack, the guests of the desert 
raised their heads and saw a miserable, almost repulsive- 
looking being, covered with a tattered animal skin. 
The unfortunate nomad, with bronzed complexion, 
high cheek bones and small, half-open eyes, seemed to 
have a nursling under the breast of her garment. 


THE EXILES. 


153 


Nadège quickly approached her, made her seat her- 
self beside the fire, and offered her a part of a fowl, 
which the Yakoute devoured, casting her hard, black 
eyes around her. Upon her bosom moved a living 
creature carefully enveloped. 

“Well, nurse,” said M. Lafleur, “might one see the 
baby?” 

The Yakoute understood the gesture which accom- 
panied the Parisian’s question, uttered in a strange 
jargon in which Russian, French and the Yakoute 
language were mingled. 

She gently and maternally drew aside the reindeer 
skin which covered her shoulder, and displayed three 
little blue foxes. 

The stupefaction was general. M. Lafleur, however, 
soon explained to everybody that it is the prevailing 
custom among the fur-hunters to carry off the young 
foxes to raise with the intention of selling the fur when 
the animals have attained their full development. And, 
while talking of the fur of the blue foxes, the Parisian 
laughed heartily at the credulity with which the ladies 
of the west, especially the English ladies, array them- 
selves in what purports to be the genuine article. He 
informed Nadège that the four feet of the animal alone 
are utilized by the furriers, which makes a pelisse cost 
in Russia thirty or forty thousand francs. The feet 
only are sold- by the hunters. The rest of the fur is 
thrown in, as having no value. 

Ladislas questioned and, while the Yakoute was 

10 


154 


THE EXILES. 


voraciously finishing her repast, M. Lafleur gave the 
curious child some details concerning the habits of the 
blue foxes. He told him that, exceedingly suspicious 
and employing a thousand artful tricks against the 
hunters, they leave their burrows only at night. 

Voracious and given to theft, they steal everything 
from the hunters and even garments from sleeping 
men ; they devour the corpses and attack the sick. 
When travellers bury food, placing numerous heavy 
stones over the earth which covers it, the foxes rob the 
hiding-place by gliding beneath the stones, aiding each 
other in the work with harmony and rare intelligence. 
If the provisions be elevated in the air on a pole, the 
foxes dig with their paws until the pole falls, or even 
with wonderful dexterity make a short ladder to reach 
the coveted prey. 

“The blue fox,” continued M. Lafleur, “is found on 
all the shores of the Arctic Ocean and on the banks of 
the rivers which flow into it. It is smaller than the 
common fox, which it greatly resembles, but its head is 
more like that of a dog. Its hair is very long, very 
thick and very soft to the touch — it is grayish blue or 
white. The tip of its muzzle is black and its ears are 
nearly round. Its voice is at once like the bark of a 
dog and the yelp of a fox. These animals are always 
met in considerable bands ; they prefer open and cold 
places. 

“ It is a curious fact,” added he, “ that the blue fox, 
far from fearing the water as do the other foxes, easily 


THE EXILES. 


155 


crosses the arms of rivers or lakes to reach islands that 
it may ravage the nests of aquatic birds. When 
game vanishes from a region, the blue foxes emigrate in 
a body, which is a habit very rare among carnivorous 
animals. 

“I had,” M. Lafleur pursued, “for my Chateau- * 
Thierry collection, superb specimens of the skins of all 
the Siberian foxes, but, alas! my collection is to be 
made over again: I can never return to Yakoutsk,” 
added he, sadly. 

After having eaten, the Yakoute woman asked per- 
mission to sleep beside the bivouac fire, which was 
granted by Nadège. She stretched herself out upon 
the snow and, drawing over her face and shoulders her 
sayanak of reindeer skin, began to snore. The little 
blue foxes, closely pressed to her bosom, paid her in 
warmth for the maternal care she bestowed upon them. 


156 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XIIL 
tekel’s return. 

night was not a quiet one. There remained 
X more than three-quarters of the ram killed by M. 
Lafleur. The odor of the raw flesh attracted the 
wolves. They roamed around the encampment despite 
Wab’s growls and barkings, which were sometimes 
furious. 

M. Lafleur, always serviceable, accompanied by the 
dog of the Himalayas, went to the nearest thicket and 
brought back a number of branches with which to feed 
the fire. 

The flames intimidated the wolves, the eyes of which 
could be seen shining in the distance. While Wab 
kept off some of them, others more daring bore away 
the remains of the ram and made but a mouthful of 
them. 

Soon the number of animals increased so greatly as 
to cause much uneasiness. At a signal from Yégor a 
general discharge of fire-arms was made in every direc- 
tion. Yégor and M. Lafleur fired several times and 
the little Pole blazed away with his two revolvers. 
The chief of police, disabled by his wound, alone 
remained inactive. 

The wolves hit by the shot uttered lugubrious howls, 


THE EXILES. 


157 


and the fugitives heard them roll and twist upon the 
ground in the convulsions of death. The others retired 
a short distance, but returned to the charge, and it 
became necessary to repulse them anew with balls. 

At last, they were again driven back. But at day- 
break they presented themselves in greater force than 
ever, ready to renew their attack. Wrangling with 
each other, they threw themselves upon the bodies of 
their companions lying in the snow and devoured them. 
This was but slight nourishment for so many famished 
animals. 

Yégor and the others loaded their weapons, thinking 
that the wolves, their appetite stimulated by the raw 
flesh, would soon leap upon them. Ladislas passed his 
revolvers to Nadège and charged the carabine belong- 
ing to the chief of police. The latter grasped in 
his free hand an enormous spear. Thus they waited, 
ready for whatever might take place. 

Suddenly, on the summit of the rock against which 
Nadège’s tent was erected appeared a huge gray bear. 
It descended heavily and went straight towards the 
wolves. 

The latter, disturbed at their feast, boldly wheeled 
about. Then, the bear, retreating a few steps, placed 
its back against the rock, squatted upon its haunches, 
thrust forward a wide-open, frightful mouth and crossed 
its fore paws over its breast. At this defensive 
attitude, the wolves formed a semi-circle about their 
adversary, prudently keeping several mètres away. 


158 


THE EXILES. 


Yégor and his companions were filled with amaze- 
ment. After rapidly consulting, they decided to let 
these animals come to blows before interfering : besides, 
it was necessary to economize the supply of powder. 

The gray bear and the wolves continued to observe 
each other, but the thing was becoming monotonous ; 
the wolves seemed to be inviting the bear to begin the 
combat. They were trying to provoke it by growls, 
which certainly seemed to contain an accusation of 
cowardice. The bear, without departing from its calm- 
ness, was allowing the ardor of its adversaries to wear 
itself out. 

Finally, some of the bravest or most famished leaped 
upon the hairy mass, which was as motionless as a 
rock. They threw themselves on the bear, attacking 
it in every direction. 

Then the enormous beast began to lift its fore paws 
and, using them as clubs, struck right and left among 
its assailants. Each time one of its heavy paws 
descended a wolf fell with a fractured skull. 

“ Shall we aid the auxiliary that has come to us ? ” 
said Yégor to M. Lafleur. 

The Parisian nodded his assent. 

The two friends, summoning all their courage, took 
position beside the bear. A few gun-shots made a gap 
in the army of wolves : this was a useful diversion. 
For an instant the bear was frightened by the reports, 
but it quickly recovered and seemed to understand 
that help was being rendered it. 


THE EXILES. 


159 


The exasperated wolves, far from retreating, rushed 
in a body upon the bear ; all which advanced openly 
with heads erect fell victims to the claws or teeth of 
the formidable beast. 

Yégor and his companions looked out for the wolves 
which approached treacherously, crouching to seize 
their terrible adversary by the stomach, a spot but 
poorly defended. The struggle soon grew frightful. 

The bear hurled its innumerable foes afar as fast as 
they arrived within its reach. Those mortally wounded 
rolled on the ground, howling and groaning; those 
which got off with slight wounds fled as rapidly as 
possible. A discharge of fire-arms accompanied their 
retreat. 

There were several assaults of this kind, intrepidly 
sustained by the bear and its two improvised auxiliaries. 
At last, the wolves, seeing how many corpses of their 
number lay upon the field of battle, totally relinquished 
the struggle and disbanded. 

The gray bear remained, impassible, astonished and 
in no way proud of its victory. 

“Shall we attack it in its turn?'’ asked Yégor, 
resolutely. 

“ Wait, my friend,” responded the Parisian. “ The 
creature has been a great help to us. Besides, these 
gray bears are not ferocious. I am going to thank it 
for its aid with a dancing lesson : that is what is called 
in my country paying in ape’s money. It is to be 
hoped that it will not settle its account by devouring 


160 


THE EXILES. 


While speaking, M. Lafleur drew his little violin 
from his pocket. The bear followed, without losing 
anything, all his movements. Without taking time to 
give the la, the dancing-master, gravely marking the 
steps, played and danced nobly an old-time minuet. 

The animal yawned at first, but the sharp sounds of 
the instrument astonished and, perhaps, charmed it. 
It shook its head with an approving air. 

It is well known that the ear of the bear, insensible 
to bursts of thunder or the fall of avalanches, has the 
gift of perceiving and appreciating the weakest and 
softest sounds. The gray bear seemed to grow familiar 
with the dancer and his music. It belonged, for that 
matter, to a species void of ferocity, feeding mainly on 
vegetables and fish. At the. commencement of winter, 
the Ostiaks are often seen conducting herds of gray 
bears to Bérézoff, where the flesh is sold on the 
butchers’ stalls. 

Carried away by the cadence of the air, the animal 
also began to shake itself and dance. 

While executing his minuet, M. Lafleur gradually 
moved away from the encampment ; the bear followed 
him, as if magnetized by his bow. 

Yégor had great trouble to prevent his dog Wab 
from going up to smell at close quarters this companion, 
suddenly grown so sociable. 

Finally, M. Lafleur, thinking that he had drawn the 
animal far enough away to have removed all danger, 
quickly wheeled about, scraping forcibly upon the 


THE EXILES. 


161 


treble string. The bear, evidentxj annoyed by the 
altogether unexpected lack of harmony, departed with 
the heavy step of a mystified beast. 

Some hours later, clouds of crows settled upon the 
bleeding bodies of the wolves, and the travellers 
thought it advisable to move their camp, advancing in 
the direction in which Tekel was to come with the 
nartas. 

The Yakoute woman did not follow them, but 
resumed her road, bearing with her the three blue 
foxes. 

Two days afterwards, as night was coming on — to 
speak the truth, it had been night all day — a sharp 
noise and a pattering sound on the hard snow 
announced from a distance the arrival of Tékel and the 
sledges, so impatiently awaited. 

Soon the two nartas were in sight. The reindeer 
were running rapidly. 

Yégor’s joy was overwhelming, Nadège’s eyes were 
filled with tears of emotion, and Ladislas clapped his 
hands. 

“What fine teams !” cried M. Lafleur. 

But Yermac’s forehead suddenly clouded. The chief 
of police turned away to hide his annoyance. 

The situation of this Muscovite functionary was 
passably strange. The former judge, incapable of 
relying upon his own judgment, regulated himself only 
by strict justice and the written law, without admitting 
any examination, interpretation or modification. Dis- 


162 


THE EXILES. 


trustful of his lights and his authority, he remained 
deaf to that interior voice which tells every man what 
is just or unjust, and limited his intellectual activity 
to the strict application of the law. In his eyes, men 
were made to obey the laws and the laws were not 
written in the interest of humanity. Further, he was 
always ready to sacrifice himself to his duty, as he had 
clearly shown. 

And yet he was almost forced to lend assistance to 
people who had forfeited their privileges, who were 
braving the law and personally defying it. Now, he 
was about to be compelled to follow them. How far 
and during what time they alone could tell. 

Yermac felt himself unable to resist this humiliation. 
Better had it been for him, he thought, to have suc- 
cumbed beneath their repeated attacks than to become 
in their hands an object of pity and derision. 

But what would he do if a patrol of Cossacks sud- 
denly appeared? Would he denounce, as his duty 
strictly ordered him to do, Yégor and Nadège as 
escaping convicts and M. Lafleur as an accomplice in 
an attempted crime? But he owed his life to these 
unfortunates Î What a cruel perplexity ! A dolorous 
struggle took place in the conscience of the chief of 
police. 

Tékel, as he advanced, hesitated for a moment. He 
did not recognize the locality. The forest razed by 
the conflagration gave the face of the country a new 
aspect. The Yakoute was greatly surprised, on 
approaching the encampment, to find that it had been 


THE EXILES. 


163 


established by Yégor aud his party, the people in 
whose service he was. 

He leaped lightly from the narta he was driving and 
displayed his teams for the general admiration. I lis 
Yakonte comrade was presented after the reindeer. 
He was quite a young man of a very pronounced 
Tartar type, and answered to the somewhat harsh name 
of Chort. 

The costumes of the two Yakoutes presented a mix- 
ture of the garments of the Russian peasants and those 
of the natives of the fur countries. They wore long 
pelisses of gray cloth in the Muscovite fashion, breeches 
of well tanned reindeer skin and torbassas or boots of 
thick reindeer hide. These boots are so made that the 
foot can enjoy perfect ease in them ; the tip of the 
sole is turned up like the runner of a skate. They 
reach to the knee and are bordered by a wide band of 
black cloth. All the seams in the garments of Tékel 
and Chort were covered with bands of this cloth. It 
is to be added that their boots were fastened about the 
ankle by strips of leather. 

Let us pass to the sledges. 

Nartas are Siberian sledges. They are narrow, long 
and very light, with accommodations for two persons 
besides the driver. The latter is but illy seated. He 
places himself on one side and is always ready to leap 
to the ground at the slightest accident. In the box of 
each narta is a receptacle for food to be used while 
traversing uninhabited sections, and also for certain 
indispensable utensils. 


164 


THE EXILES. 


Tékel had had the foresight to fill the boxes of his 
two nartas with fiour, barley, dried and smoked fish, 
etc., while an abundant supply of lichens showed that 
he had not forgotten the reindeer. He had furnished 
himself with hatchets, numerous knives and hunting 
and fishing implements. Felt cloth covered each of 
the vehicles and could at need be used in the erection 
of tents. 

Each narta was drawn, after the manner of the 
natives, by three stout reindeer. Generally, the Rus- 
sians prefer to harness to these vehicles a large number 
of dogs. They find it easier to feed them with the 
fiesh of animals killed on the road and, at need, with 
fish, than to renew, without going out of their way 
the mosses on which the reindeer live. 

As to the animals, they left much to be desired. 
Three out of the six were white. Two had magnificent 
horns measuring from four to five feet. The others 
lacked either the right horn or the left, except one — it 
had been used to ride upon — which had its horns sawed 
off near the skull. Besides, it was the season in which 
the reindeer shed the hairy skin with which their horns 
are provided, and long, bloody strips hung from the 
antlers. It will be remembered that a reindeer’s head 
greatly resembles that of a heifer, but the body is 
slenderer and the limbs cleaner cut. The broad foot 
of the creature facilitates travelling over the snow. 
Without the reindeer, the tribes of the extreme north 
could not exist. The animal is for them whnt the 
horse and the cow are for us, the camel and the goat 


THE EXILES. 


165 


for the Arab of the desert. It serves at once as a 
beast of burden and nourishment : it gives milk and 
garments to those who raise it. 

Yégor informed Tékel of what had occurred during 
his absence, and was very glad to learn that his servant 
had by chance laid in a supply of provisions: they 
would replace those which had been abandoned to the 
flames of the forest. 

That evening, the repast was exceptionally comfort- 
able, thanks to the elements furnished by the new 
arrivals from Zachiversk: Yakoute butter, without salt 
and hardened by the cold, which was broken into 
pieces; strouganina, or raw fish frozen and cut into 
thin slices ; reindeer brains, frozen also ; and black 
bread dried in small cakes — all dishes reputed to be 
delicious and choice. The Yakoutes added some wild 
onions gathered in the neighborhood. 

After the meal, the two natives made their prepara- 
tions for the night. The reindeer unharnessed and set 
at liberty, Nadège and Ladislas were placed in one of 
the nartas and well covered with its felt cloth. To the 
chief of police — in consideration of his wound — was 
assigned the other narta. They wrapped him up 
warmly in it. Yégor and the Parisian rolled them- 
selves in their furs. As to the Yakoutes, they scarcely 
took the most simple precautions against the cold, 
justifying the title of “men of iron” bestowed in 
Siberia upon their race. 

The next day, at an early hour, the fugitives were 
to continue their journey. 


166 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XIV. 

AKE-ESTED. 

I N the light produced by the atmospheric refraction, 
the travellers had taken the eastern highwaj^, guid- 
ing themselves by means of a tiny compass, a gewgaw 
figuring among the charms attached to Yégor’s watch- 
chain : the compass with which the latter had provided 
himself had been lost during the burning of the forest, 
together with the map of the comparatively unknown 
districts to be traversed by the fugitives ; but this map 
was photographed, so to speak, upon the exile’s brain, 
in consequence of the thorough study he had made of 
it during the long hours he had devoted to planning 
his escape. 

The severe cold necessitated the adoption of every 
available means of braving the rigors of the season, at 
the very commencement of the journey. 

The nartas went at the average speed of twelve 
kilomètres an hour. In the first, driven by Tékel, 
were Yégor, Nadège and Ladislas. The chief of police 
and M. Lafleur occupied the second. 

An interminable plain presented itself to the sight, 
not with a distant prospect — the light was too faint for 
that — but with such uniformity in the sheet of white- 
ness, of which the nartas seemed always to occupy the 


THE EXILES. 


167 


centre, that without the patter of the hoofs of the 
reindeer in the snow, without the scraping sound pro- 
duced by the runners of the sledges, the travellers 
might have believed their vehicles motionless. 

They crossed several frozen lakes. The camp, after 
the first day, was even established on one of those 
marshes which remain eternally frozen beneath the 
surface, and which are called toundras. 

The second day dawned amid an intense cold that 
promised well for the progress of the fugitives. They 
resumed their journe}^ carefully shunning some inhab- 
bited points where posts of Cossacks were located, and 
where it would have been difficult to furnish a satisfac- 
tory explanation of the object of this trip between the 
Indiguirka and the Kolima in such rough weather. 

Suddenly, a Cossack, driving a very light little sledge 
drawn by numerous dogs, shot by the nartas like an 
arrow. 

This Cossack had a droll look, with his lance slung 
across his back and his fur hood pulled down over his 
eyes. One might have thought him astraddle of an 
overturned iron chair and being drawn along, despite 
himself, by a dozen dogs. 

It was a courier despatched by the commander of a 
post established to the north of the plain which the 
fugitives were crossing, parallel to the Stanovoi- 
Grébéte chain, in which rise the Indiguirka, the Kolima 
and the Omolon rivers. 

The Cossack, after having passed the two nartas, 


168 


THE EXILES. 


turned his team about and started to overtake them ; 
Yégor and M. Lafleur, therefore, ordered their drivers 
to put the reindeer to the top of their speed. 

They had so much the air of flight that the Cos- 
sack’s curiosity was stimulated. He wished to take a 
nearer look at these travellers who were in such haste 
and who, contrary to the custom of the country, 
shunned speaking with the people whom good luck 
threw in their way. 

In less than flve minutes he rejoined the nartas, and 
Yégor and his companions were forced to stop and 
enter into conversation with him. 

“I wish you a safe journey. Messieurs,” said the 
Cossack. “ And here is a piece of advice for you : go 
a little to the left, if you would not miss the ostrog of 
V erkné-Kolimsk.” 

The ostrog was the post from whence the Cossack 
had been despatched. 

“ They are not going to the ostrog ! ” said Yermac. 

Where are they going, then ? ” asked the Cossack, 
more puzzled than ever, for he could not understand 
how they could disdain making a halt at this post, 
deemed a precious refuge by those obliged to cross 
these vast solitudes. “Are your passports in proper 
shape?” demanded he of Yegor, who, having quitted 
his sledge, had advanced to talk with him. 

“ Our passports are in proper shape,” answered the 
young man. “If you were charged with verifying 
them, I would show them to you with pleasure. But 


THE EXILES. 


169 


what good would that do, since you are only an 
ignorant fellow? 

“Not so ignorant after all! I am a courier to the 
neighboring posts, the bearer of information relative to 
some vernaks escaped from Yakoutsk ! There are — 
(and the Cossack counted the travellers) — there are 
four of them (he, however, saw five persons), and you 
answer so well to the descriptions that I shall be com- 
pelled to ask you to go pay your respects to our 
Esaoule ! ” 

The Cossack thought, perhaps, that he had made a 
fine capture. He had no compunction or false sensibility 
about the matter, for the contempt for exiles is so great 
that the natives repeat this popular saying : By killing 
a squirrel one gets only one skin, but by killing a 
vernak one gets three : the man’s coat, shirt and hide ! 

Yermac was about to speak, but the Parisian was too 
quick for him. 

“We do not refuse,” said he to the Cossack ; “ and, 
if you will lead the way, we will follow you willingly. 
For my part, I should greatly relish something warm 
to eat. Do they cook well at the ostrog ? I do not 
believe that my companions would have anything to 
say against some good pemmican (extract of meat) 
broth and a venison pâté.” 

M. Lafleur said this in a pleasant tone, at the same 
time endeavoring to make Yégor comprehend by signs 
that it was impossible to get clear of the plain invita- 
tion of the Cossack. 

11 


170 


THE EXILES. 


Yégor then resumed his place, first questioning with 
a look the countenance of the chief of police. The 
latter seemed absorbed in a deep meditation, the sub- 
ject of which the exile divined. Had Yermac not been 
present, Yegor certainly would have given the Cossack 
some trouble. But an attempt of that kind, with the 
chief of police against him, could not have been made 
without running the greatest risks. 

Nadège was much alarmed at the intervention of 
this soldier and Ladislas already had tears in his eyes. 
Yégor reassured them both, and directed Tékel to 
regulate the speed of his sledge by that of the vehicle 
of the fatal Cossack who had thrown himself across 
their road. 

The three nartas started abreast. 

The Cossack took a notion to have a race between 
his dogs and the reindeer. Tékel and his friend Chort 
-were not averse to the proposal and accepted the chal- 
lenge, diiving oft at a furious rate. In less than a 
quarter of an hour tlie ostrog was in sight. Yégor had 
scarcely had time to think over how he should face the 
terrible trial that was coming. 

His heart beat violently. 

The ostrog was a small, ruined fortress, with walls 
formed of beams confusedly heaped together. A little 
square tower still stood at each angle, despite the age 
of the structure, the whole being surrounded by a 
palisade of huge logs of wood. It was what remained 
of one of those ancient fortifications built, in the 


THE EXILES. 171 

seventeenth century, to protect the first Russian 
pioneers against the incursions of the natives. 

Beside the ostrog stood a small village — one of the 
most remote stations in this northern region. 

In the fortress, ten Cossacks composed a post placed 
under the orders of an Esaoule. Thanks to this armed 
band, the officer of the Czar was enabled to collect by 
force the tax payable in furs — the yasak — owed by the 
nomads of the district. 

Yégor and his companions were brought before the 
Esaoule, who occupied the largest house in the village. 
He was an aged Russian — an old fox whitened in his 
burrow — perhaps, a former under officer of the army 
who had been promoted, perhaps, a disgraced function- 
ary who had been punished by banishment. 

With such a man firmness was necessary; Yégor 
summoned up all he possessed. He complained of the 
invitation made with armed hand by one of the soldiers 
of the ostrog, protesting that he was accustomed to 
more respect. 

M. Lafieur, thinking that his friend was assuming 
too lofty a tone, interposed. 

“ Look here, my dear fellow,” said he ; “ my gluttony 
did as much towards deciding you to come pay your 
respects to our Esaoule as all that abominable Cossack 
said. I am hungry and want something warm to eat,” 
added he, addressing the Esaoule. 

“ It was not your intention to stop here, then ? ” said 
the latter. “You wished neither to renew your stock 
of provisions nor to procure fresh animals?” 


172 


THE EXILES. 


This officer, all-powerful in the district, could alone 
grant permission to obtain reindeer and purchase food. 

“We came from Yakoutsk,” answered Yégor, “but 
our reindeer, which were brought to us from Zachi- 
versk, are not yet fatigued and our provisions are still 
abundant.” 

“And 3^ou are going — ?” 

“To Nijni-Kolimsk. This young girl and her 
brother are the children of your colleague, the Esaoule 
of that town ; their father is very ill — and I am taking 
them to him.” 

“Ah! Toumanoff is ill? — dying? I have heard 
nothing of it ! ” said the old officer. “ I knew that his 
daughter and son were being educated at Yakoutsk.” 

“ They are before you,” said Yégor, blushing deeply 
at the lie he was forced to tell. 

His color and confusion did not escape the Esaoule. 

“ Have you passports ? ” asked he. 

“Certainly,” said Yégor, drawing from his bosom 
the document he had prepared. 

“ Let me look at it,” said the official. 

He took the stamped paper, read and re-read it, 
turning it over and over in his hands and staring at 
the fugitives in a disturbing fashion. 

Yermac smiled ; he kept his eyes on the Esaoule and 
was amused at the embarrassment of Yégor, whom his 
presence alone greatly troubled. 

“ The passport is in proper shape,” said the officer, at 
length, “ but it is only for 3'ou and my colleague’s 


THE EXILES. 173 

children. Have the two men who are with you 
passports, also ? ’’ 

“One of them,” said Yégor, drawing on all the 
powers of his imagination, “ M. Lafleur,” and he pre- 
sented to the Esaoule the former herbalist, “is a 
Parisian and, further, a distinguished naturalist and 
the author of the ‘ Flora Altaïca ! ’ ” 

“ All this is not a passport,” observed the old 
Russian official. 

“ M. Lafleur has a ticket permitting him to go as far 
as Aldanskoï where I met him, and he risked accom- 
panying me out of pure love for science.” 

“ Hum ! ” muttered the Esaoule, but half convinced. 

“Never,” said M. Lafleur, “am I asked for m3’ pass- 
port — no, never! and every year I run through Siberia 
from the Ural Mountains to Kamtchatka and from the 
Altaï chain to the Arctic Ocean. The rest of m3" time 
I pass in the intimacy of the governor of Yakoutsk and 
his charming famil3". I enjoy the respect of the gover- 
nor, the esteem of his wife and the friendship of Miles. 
Agraféna and Eléna, their daughters. Are 3"ou 
satisfled, Esaoule? For a relay-master you are furi- 
ously exacting ! Look at me well : I am a Frenchman, 
born in Paris, on the Place de la Bastille. My spine is 
straight and I have not the air of being accustomed to 
receive the knout — know that, and vive la liberté I 
Respect in me a friend of your superior, and don’t 
annoy me further with your ridiculous formalities ! ” 

While speaking, M. Lafleur had, nevertheless, handed 
his ticket to the officer. 


174 


THE EXILES. 


“I ask yôur pardon, Monsieur,” said the latter, 
respectfully taking the paper ; “ but the chief of police 
of Yakoutsk (the fugitives could not repress a start of 
great surprise) notified me through my Cossacks of the 
escape of several exiles and sent me descriptions 
answering exactly to you, this young lady, her brother 
and the young man accompanying'them I ” 

Yermac drew himself up, radiant at having succeeded 
so well. 

Yegor thought he was about to speak — to denounce 
them. 

He made a desperate attempt to assure his silence. 

“You have not asked me,” said he to the Esaoule, 
“who is my other travelling companion. I have the 
honor to present to you in him one of the four or five 
Polish priests (Yermac seemed overcome with supreme 
amazement) — one of the Polish priests whom the Rus- 
sian government allows to travel through Siberia, to 
visit once a year the settlements in which are the 
political convicts of their race and faith. He passes 
bravely through the Siberian cold from Tobolsk to the 
colonies of the Amoor, and from the mines of Nert- 
chinsk to the shipyards of Okhotsk ! ” 

“ He ought to have a regular passport ! ” murmured 
the Esaoule. 

The chief of police had about him only papers estab- 
lishing his identity. To show them, would be equivalent 
to a denunciation. 

“Permit me to finish,” resumed Yégor, to whom the 
danger lent activity of mind. “ The devotion of our 


THE EXILES. 


175 


new friend does not always receive its recompense: 
among the Verkho-Yansk Mountains, we drew him, so 
to speak, from the jaws of a bear — ” 

“Which had already cruelly torn his arm,” said M. 
Lafleur, coming to Yégor’s aid. 

“ But the passport? ” 

“ Eaten by the bear ! ” said M. Lafleur. 

“Lost with a valuable wallet in the agony of the 
terrible strife,” said Yégor, drowning the voice of the 
distinguished naturalist. 

The Esaoule, astonished at the silence of the pre- 
tended Polish priest, looked at him as if to obtain from 
him a word agreeing with the declarations of his 
companions. 

The chief of police replied to this look. 

“ I have nothing to add,” said he, “ to what has been 
told you: the Verkho-Yansk Mountains, the bear, the 
wound — all this is the exact truth.” 

This was an immense relief to Yégor and Nadège, but 
all the trouble was not yet over. 

“All this,” said the Esaoule, scratching his head, 
“ is far from being regular.” 

“ What further can I do? ” asked Yégor. 

“You? — nothing. But I must do what the circum- 
stances render necessary: I arrest you, and shall ask 
instructions of the governor of Yakoutsk and his chief 
of police, at the same time sending a Cossack to Nijni- 
Kolimsk to announce to the Esaoule, my colleague, 
your speedy arrival — provided that what you have 
told me be true Î ” 


176 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XV. 

THE JEW AND HIS GOLD DUST. 

Y egor was thunderstruck. He saw Nadège turn 
pale, ready to swoon. 

“ As you please,” said he to the Esaoule, “ though it 
is a wretched piece of business to delay children who 
are hastening to their father’s death-bed. But you 
should. Monsieur,” added he, firmly, “ when travellers 
are obliged to present themselves before you, fatigued 
by a long journey made under the worst conditions to 
gain a few hours — these hours which you are so lightly 
making us lose — you should begin by exercising a little 
in their favor that Siberian hospitality which is praised 
so highly — in distant districts — especially when there 
are delicate persons among them, like this young girl 
and this little lad.” 

The Esaoule, in confusion, offered Nadège a chair 
and showed Ladislas some kindness. 

“Monsieur,” said he to Yégor, “my house is yours, 
and all it contains is at your service. You can dispose 
of them as you like until my couriers have returned 
from the seat of government and Nijni-Kolimsk. Mean- 
while, I will endeavor, believe me, to diminish for you 
and your companions the weariness o^ ^your forced 
captivity.” 

“ But the lost time ! ” exclaimed Nadège. 


THE EXILES. 177 

“ Mademoiselle, I will regain it for you by furnishing 
you with excellent teams of dogs.” 

“As for me,” said Yermac, “I can but congratulate 
you. Monsieur Lavrenti Kantier, upon your interpreta- 
tion of your duties as a functionary of the Empire I ” 

“You know me, then?” said the Esaoule, consider- 
ably surprised to hear his name mentioned by the 
so-called Polish priest. 

“ No matter about that ! ” said the latter. “ It is 
enough that my compliments are sincere.” 

The Esaoule, seeing that these words were spoken 
seriously, took them in good part. 

“ I do all I can,” said he, “ to properly discharge my 
duties, which are often disagreeable.” 

Yermac’s countenance beamed. Thus, without being 
compelled to display ingratitude towards his compan- 
ions, without breaking an engagement made with them 
by implication, he would accomplish his ends, thanks 
to his care in sending by the patrol of Cossacks’ 
instructions to the four most important posts, which 
form a vast quadrilateral in the solitudes of the 
districts of the Indiguirka and the Kolima. The law 
would triumph I He would recover his liberty of 
action, without having weakened, without having failed 
in what he owed himself as chief of police. 

“ Pra}^ be seated also. Messieurs, and tell me some- 
thing about the burning of the forest of Ostrovoyé,” 
said the Esaoule. “You must have witnessed the 
conflagration.” 


178 


THE EXILES. 


“ All Î you may well believe it ! ” cried M. Lafleur, 
who had lost nothing of his confidence. 

And he pompously began the description of the 
disaster, making use of numerous Latin quotations 
taken hap-hazard from his recollections of the rudiments 
of that tongue, for he was forced to maintain in the 
presence of this ignorant official the reputation for 
learning with which Yegor had endowed him. Each 
word of the dancing-master, uttered with perfect ease, 
seemed intended to communicate to the fugitives the 
calmness and assurance he was showing. 

While he was talking, a Cossack who served the 
Esaoule, at his master’s order, placed upon the rustic 
table roughly fashioned with a hatchet the best the 
house possessed. The prudent Esaoule, prepared for 
everything, did not wish his unwilling guests to be in 
a position to accuse him of having been lacking in 
hospitality. He already possessed the esteem of the 
pretended Polish priest ; he now aimed to win that of 
the governor’s friend, the so-called author of the 
“ Flora Altaïca.” 

The warmth of the apartment was comforting to the 
travellers. They disembarrassed themselves of their 
heavier garments. Yegor insisted that Nadège should 
do honor to the dishes served upon the Esaoule’s table. 
The 3^oung girl’s depression might well be attributed 
to the sad and imperious necessity that had obliged her 
to undertake this difficult winter journey. 

Yermac ate with an appetite he had not felt for a 
long while. 


THE EXILES. 


179 


A tcH of meat was served, accompanied with rye 
loaves fresh from the oven, and with preserves made 
of a kind of small gooseberries which had reached 
exceptional maturity the preceding summer. 

“I shall without losing a moment,” said the com- 
mander of the ostrog, “prepare my despatches and 
send off my couriers before an hour has passed.” 

“Wait a little,” said Yegor, audaciously; “your 
couriers shall also bear a letter from me to the father 
of these children, your colleague of Nijni-Kolimsk.” 

“And one from me,” added the Parisian, “ to the 
governor’s wife complaining of your severity, Esaoule, 
and giving her a description of your excellent pre- 
serves.” 

The Esaoule seemed somewhat disconcerted. He 
evidently feared to be exhibited in a bad light to so 
many important personages. 

Yermac, who noticed his hesitation, suddenly ceased 
to manoeuvre his fork and his forehead clouded. 

“While awaiting your couriers’ return,” said the 
exile, “ I advise you to busy yourself with the prepara- 
tions for our departure. Besides, I intend to recom- 
pense you largely.” 

The Esaoule appeared instantly to take a resolution. 
At the word recompense his face lighted up. He 
promised himself that he would profit by this wind- 
fall, while taking every precaution to shield his respon- 
sibility. 

“ Let me see,” said the former judge of the tribunal 


180 


THE EXILES. 


of Moscow to himself, “what reliance can be placed 
upon the honesty of this Russian functionary I 

The Esaoule in snuffing a candle put it out. 

“ An unexpected visit ! ” exclaimed M. Lafleur, who 
was familiar with the Russian proverbs. 

He did not think he was so near the truth. 

At that moment, at the half-open door of the low- 
ceilinged apartment in which they were, appeared a 
huge nose, a bony head and a thin face beneath a dirty 
fur cap. The caftan of the person was in no better 
condition. Yégor divined the presence of a Jew 
pedler. 

The intruder, on perceiving so many people, with- 
drew his nose, his head and his chest, afraid, doubtless, 
of being indiscreet. 

Yégor thought that if the man were, as he believed, 
a Jew merchant, a few little purchases made of him 
and bestowed upon his host, in return for the forced 
hospitality they were receiving at his hands, might 
produce an excellent effect. 

The Jew — for it was, indeed, a Jew — remained in 
the antechamber, a gloomy and dirty apartment, feebly 
lighted by a window having, instead of glass, plates of' 
ice soldered with cold water, accoi ding to the custom 
in these regions where the low temperature breaks 
panes of glass. He comprehended that some one was 
approaching. Mysteriously, he seized Yégor’s reindeer 
skin pelisse, and said to him, in a low voice : 

“ Esaoule, I have some more — of the purest, and in 
much greater quantity ! ” 


THE EXILES. 


181 


“I am not the Esaoule,’^ said Yégor; “but what 
have you for sale ? ” 

“ You are not the Esaoule ! ” exclaimed the other, 
alarmed and, doubtless, fearing that he had said too 
much. 

“I will willingly buy,” resumed Yegor, “something 
that I can offer to the excellent Esaoule, to whom I am 
under obligation. What have you to sell? ” 

The Jew scratched his forehead with his long, lank 
fingers. 

“ Will you speak ? ” 

“ This is how the matter stands : what I am selling 
cannot be offered to everybody. From whence come 
you ? ” 

“ I am from — Barnaoul.” 

“ And whither are you going ? ” 

Yégor began to think the man excessively curious. 

“I am going to Nijni-Kolimsk.” 

“ I came from there.” 

“You came from Nijni-Kolimsk I ” exclaimed Yégor, 
in alarm. “ Do not tell that to any one here and take 
these twenty roubles for your discretion. Is it a 
bargain ? ” 

While the exile was taking a note from his wallet, 
the Jew said to him, as he stretched out his hand ; 

“ If you also have secrets — ” 

“Well?” 

“ Then we can have an understanding.” 

“ Speak.” 


182 


THE EXILES. 


“ I am selling gold dust — in good condition.” 

“ Stolen gold ? ” 

“ Not so loud ! Gold taken from those who put their 
hands on it without having taken the trouble to mine 
it. This,” added he, drawing from his bosom a small 
squirrel skin bag, “ comes from the sands of the Amou- 
Daria. Feel the weight of it! Twenty-eight ounces — 
almost no silver at all mixed with it and still less 
copper than silver.” 

“ And you will give me all this dust for a little of 
my own gold ? ” 

“ Yes ; for gold coin or even paper money.” 

Yégor could not avoid smiling at the idea of this 
exchange of contraband gold for that bearing the 
stamp of the State. 

“ What value do you place upon your dust ? ” 
asked he. 

“ There is more than six hundred roubles’ worth. I 
ask a hundred and fifty. Is that too much? ” 

“ No ; it is not too much ; but I am not rich, and I 
wish to present your bag to the Esaoule.” 

“ You have then a very great favor to purchase ! ” 

“ Perhaps. I will give you a hundred roubles.” 

“No ; I prefer to go to the Esaoule, for whom I have, 
besides, a verbal commission from the Esaoule of Nijni- 
Kolimsk.” 

“ But what of the money I gave you and our agree- 
ment?” 

“I forgot that,” said the Jew. “Well, I will not 


THE EXILES. 


183 


see the Esaoule, but you will go as high as a hundred 
and twenty roubles.” 

“ Agreed, my friend. Pass me your bag ; there are 
people in that room who must be weary of waiting 
for me.” 

The exchange of gold and paper was made, and the 
purchaser and seller departed in different directions, 
apparently satisfied with the bargain. 

“It was with you, Esaoule,” said Yégor, returning 
to the low-ceilinged room, “that the Jew had business. 
He asked me to hand you this.” 

The official weighed the little bag in his hand. He 
partially opened it, and saw the precious yellow gold 
sparkling within. 

He did not hesitate a second. 

“ I know,” said he, “ and I thank you ! ” 

He grasped the bag and gave Yégor a look which 
could have but one signification, namely, that he 
trusted to his discretion. 

“ The scoundrel Î ” muttered Yermac, who had lost 
nothing either of the brief dialogue or the movements 
accompanying it. “ He allows himself to be bought! ” 

It was too much for him. He was about to speak, 
to denounce the fugitives before the Cossacks of the 
ostrog. He was about to reproach the Esaoule with 
his venality and make a scene. He persuaded himself 
without further hesitation that there existed in him 
two beings, morally independent of each other: the 
functionary and the man. If the man had contracted 


184 


THE EXILES. 


a debt of gratitude, he was free to pay it when and 
how he thought best ; the functionary was obliged to 
discharge obligations much more contracted, much 
more rigorous. 

“ Esaoule,” he began. 

Yégor and Nadège saw from the expression of his 
face that, at last, he was going to denounce them. 

But the Esaoule had just caught an idea, a brilliant 
idea, he thought ; and he cried, vivaciously, interrupt- 
ing the chief of police : 

“ Allow me ! I have thought. Messieurs, of a way 
to arrange everything.” 

“ What is it, Esaoule ? ” asked Yermac. 

“It is this; You can all depart on your journey 
and that to-morrow, after a night of rest and warmth 
in this house. Two of m3" Cossacks will accompany 
you and will assure me on their return of the truth — 
which I no longer doubt for that matter — of the story 
you have told me.” 

“I very willingly accept your offer,” Yégor hasteiied 
to say, though the new prospect presented by the 
relay-master’s proposition filled him with terror; but 
he preferred being escorted by two Cossacks over the 
road to Nijni-Kolimsk to being delivered up by 
Yermac ; the danger was less immediate. 

The chief of police, for his part, on hearing an- 
nounced the terms of the arrangement decided upon 
by the Esaoule, suddenly felt weaken in him that 
determination which, a moment before, he was about 


THE EXILES. 


185 


to take so resolutely, on seeing Yégor and his com- 
panions apparently slipping from him, thanks to the 
purchased complicity of the relay-master. He resolved 
to remain silent, thinking that he would, perhaps, 
before long, get the better of his adversaries, and that, 
too, without having to do ought against them. 

Yégor, who was observing him, noticed this change, 
and said to the Esaoule, in a tone of great relief : 

“Well, Monsieur, you have now nothing further to 
do than to look after our teams.” 

“Rest eas}^” answered the Esaoule; “you shall 
have for each of your nartas fifteen or eighteen of 
the best dogs the district can furnish.” 

12 


186 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

A STEATAGEM. 

O N the day succeeding this perilous adventure, 
might have been seen in one of those yourtes, 
styled yourtes of refuge, erected at intervals upon the 
roads of Siberia — the Czar’s highway, this time, fol- 
lowed for an entire day — a joyous company established 
around a huge, bright fire. The smoke escaped from 
the yourte through an opening in the centre of the 
conical roof. 

Out-of-doors, dogs were curled up beside two nartas, 
well embedded in the snow to keep warm, their tails 
folded on their muzzles as long as the muzzle of a wolf. 

Two horses tied to a post were devouring a slim 
ration of feed. 

In a kettle, placed over the fire of the yourte, the 
food for the dogs w’as being cooked. 

The merry-maker in chief of the company was M. 
Lafieur, the inexhaustible M. Lafleur. He it was who, 
after having done the cooking and laid the cloth — 
figuratively speaking — had urged each person to par- 
ticipate in an excellent repast placed upon a fiat stone 
serving as a table and of which a quarter of wild mut- 
ton, admirably roasted, formed the principal dish. 

The foreseeing Parisian had provided wit|^ himself 


THE EXILES, 


187 


this abundant and savory meat on quitting the ostrog, 
which had come so near being the end of the fugitives’ 
journey. Huge slices of smoked salmon had already 
made their appearance before the mutton, and this 
salmon had but one defect, that of producing tremen- 
dous thirst. Of this defect the fugitives were about 
to make use. 

The guests — Yégor, Nadège and Yermac — seated on 
the ground had the place of honor ; then came the two 
Cossacks, who had magnificent appetites, and, finally, 
M. Lafleur, the little Pole and, modestly keeping some- 
what in the background, the faithful Yakoutes Tékel 
and Chort. 

There was no limit, that evening, to the liberality of 
M. Lafleur, who uncorked without regret a third bottle 
of brandy, a prodigality concerted, for that matter, 
with Yégor Séménoff. There must have been power- 
ful reasons for treating the two Cossacks well to 
warrant making such a large breach in the supply 
of provisions brought from Zachiversk by Tékel, 
Did they wish to make friends of them ? — to detach 
them at need from Yermac? — to bargain with them? 
All that would seem hazardous, difficult and even 
extremely perilous. 

Yégor, aided by M. Lafleur, was working to attain a 
simpler and surer end : to intoxicate the two Cossacks 
and get rid of them by leaving them behind. 

“ It has been many a day, if we except yesterday at 
the ostrog,” said M. Lafleur, “ since we have had such 


188 


THE EXILES. 


a substantial repast. Unfortunately, this salted fish 
has made me precious thirsty — and the others also ! ” 

And he poured out a fresh bumper for each of the 
two Cossacks, who smiled good-humoredly, displaying 
their white teeth. They seemed to protest by their 
air against the words of their generous cup-bearer. 

“Well,” said M. Lafleur, “I see you like salted and 
smoked salmon.” He added, addressing one of the 
Cossacks : “ What is your name, comrade ? ” 

“Nicolaï,” answered the man. 

“And yours?” said he to the other. 

“ Mine ? Ardalion.” 

“Well, Nicolai* and Ardalion, I have an idea. It is 
that you prefer vodki to salmon.” 

This was so much in accordance with the Cossacks’ 
thoughts that they burst out laughing. When their 
guttural hi hi’s had somewhat abated, Yermac, who 
had grown uneasy and had ceased to eat, spoke to the 
dancing-master. 

“Monsieur Lafleur, you are giving these men too 
much to drink ! ” observed he. 

“ Ah ! I know it very well ! ” answered the Parisian. 
“The rascals are making a famous hole in our sup- 
plies.” 

“Happily,” said Yégor, “we are not very far from 
our destination.” 

Yermac cast upon Yégor a severe look which was 
almost equivalent to giving him the lie. Yégor under- 
stood it thus and turned away his eyes. 


THE EXILES. 


189 


“I tell you that you are giving them too much to 
drink, ’ resumed the chief of police. “ And really, 
Monsieur — roumanoff,” added he, with emphasis, 
“ when one is charged with conducting a well brought 
up young person like Mademoiselle, one should be 
careful to keep fnnn her people whose words — ” 

“ Oh ! ” said Nadège, “ I have neither the right nor 
the leisure to be very particular.” 

“ He wishes to stop us from drinking, that fellow,” 
said one of the Cossacks, pushing his companion’s 
elbow. 

“ At the very moment we are being regaled,” said 
the other. “ What can the Polish priest be think- 
ing of ! ” 

“A dominican of Samogitia,” murmured M. Lafleur 
in the ear of the Cossack who had first spoken. 

“ Biacha — biacha,” said Nicolai, passing his hand 
over the chief of police’s back as if caressing a sheep. 

“My friends,” said Yermac, “you are a little too 
free. If you knew who I am, you would regret your 
words. I might cause you a great deal of trouble.” 

“Well, who are you?” said the Cossack who styled 
himself Ardalion. 

“ Who am I Î ” answered Yermac. And without 
further hesitation, resolved to recall the Cossacks to 
their duty at any price, he added, in a tone of author- 
ity : “I am the chief of police of Yakoutsk!” 

“ Ah ! that is very good ! ” cried Ardalion, giving 
Yermac a rough tap on the shoulder. 


190 


THE EXILES. 


“ He don’t wish us to drink ! Heavens and earth Î ” 
said the other Cossack. “ I am a son of a gun if he 
himself has not already left his reason at the bottom 
of his cup ! ” 

“ I will make you repent of your insolence ! ” cried 
the chief of police. 

“ He has wicked vodki in him ! ” observed Nicolai*. 

“ The devil is at his shoulder ! ” said Ardalion. 

“ Let us speak no more of him,” resumed Nicolai ; 
“ we can get no good out of him ! ” 

“ Will you allow them, Monsieur Séménoff — Mon- 
sieur Toumanoff, I should say — to insult me in your 
presence ? ” 

“ Great Heavens, Monsieur ! I am used myself to 
suifering so many things ! ” 

“ Come, let us have peace ! ” cried the dancing- 
master ; “ and let us all drink a cup as a token of 
sincere reconciliation.” 

The Cossacks, very willing to obey, were already 
extending their wooden gobletsi Nicolai* even said to 
M. Lafleur : “ Precisely so, your Highness ! ” As for 
Ardalion, he made this proverbial remark : “ One does 
not get the headache when one drinks at the expense 
of others.” 

M.- Lafleur first filled the chief of police’s cup. 
Yermac, furious at the rôle they were making him 
play, hurled the liquor into the fire which was warming 
and smoking the yourte, and a blue flame shot up 
suddenly from it. 


THE EXILES. 


191 


“But can you not see,” said he to the soldiers, 
“that they wish to make you drunk to play a trick 
upon you?” 

The Cossacks looked at each other. One scratched 
the nape of his neck and the other his back. 

“It is true ! Why do not they themselves drink?” 
asked Ardalion of his comrade. 

M. Lafleur, who had just poured out vodki for the 
two Yakoutes, kept in reserve by him until then to be 
brought forward at the proper moment, turned them 
loose upon the Cossacks. The latter then, ceasing 
to be suspicious, demanded more liquor, impatiently 
striking their cups against the huge stone which served 
as a table. 

Before so much noise, Nadège fled with Ladislas to 
the extremity of the yourte. 

Yermac made a last effort. 

“My friends,” said he to the Cossacks, “summon up 
all your remaining coolness and try to understand me.” 

“The dominican of Samogitia is going to teach us 
the catechism,” said Ardalion. 

“ He is like the thirsty fly — no way to get rid of 
him,” added Nicolai*. 

“As true as I exist, your lives are, perhaps, at 
stake,” resumed Yermac. 

But the two Cossacks were no longer in a condition 
to understand him. They began to utter all sorts of 
pleasantries. Finally, drunk with noise, excitement 
and liquor, they retired to lie down in a corner of the 
yourte. 


192 


THE EXILES. 


“ You have carried your point I ” said the chief of 
police, addressing Yégor. 

“ Perhaps ! ” said the latter, in a low tone. 

He seemed to be afraid of awakening the two 
soldiers. At a sign he gave M. Lafleur, Nadège and 
Ladislas, each of them noiselessly made some arrange- 
ments to sleep ; but Yégor and M. Lafleur slept with 
one e3^e open. As to Yermac, a prey to strong excite- 
nient, he walked back and forth across the j'ourte. 

At length, being able to control himself no longer, 
he went towards the Cossacks to arouse them ; but one 
of them — Ardalion — somewhat refreshed by his short 
nap, opened his eyes and shook his companion, to 
whom he spoke in a whisper. 

They arose, and Yermac thought he might possibly 
make them understand him. 

Nicolai made him a mysterious sign, as he went with 
the tread of a wolf, followed by his companion, towards 
the entrance of the yourte. It was an invitation to 
accompany them. 

Yermac obeyed, despite the terrible cold which 
reigned without. 

“In which narta do they keep the supply of vodki?” 
Nicolai* asked him. “We must have another little 
drink while the rest sleep.” 

“ But you have already drunk too much Î ” cried the 
chief of police. “ Take care as to what you are about 
to do Î You will bring ruin down upon your heads I ” 

“You are beginning again I We will find it well 


THE EXILES. 


193 


enough without you,” said Nicolai, shrugging his 
shoulders. 

Meanwhile, the other Cossack was searching in one 
of the nartas. He was in luck and speedily found the 
object of their desires: a huge bottle of liquor. He 
seized it, uttering a cry of joy, and returned to the 
yourte with his companion. Yermac walked behind 
them, determined to try once more. 

“ Listen,” said he ; “ you have committed a robbery I ” 

“ Not so loud I ” said Ardalion ; “ you will awaken 
them I ” 

“ But let the robbery go ! ” resumed Yermac. “ If 
you will heed me, you will not drink further, and will 
not put yourselves in such a state as to unfit you for 
the performance of your duty, your service.” 

“ I believe he is going to begin to teach us over 
again ! ” observed Nicolai*. 

And adroitly uncorking the bottle, he lifted its neck 
to his mouth and greedily took several swallows. 

“ It’s my turn ! ” cried his comrade, snatching the 
bottle from him without ceremony. 

“ Don’t guzzle all of it ! ” exclaimed Nicolai, as 
Ardalion drank without taking breath. 

“Here — take it I I make you a present of the 
rest ! ”' said the latter, giving vent to a deep sigh. 

And, with an uncertain step, he went towards the 
spot where, a few moments before, he had been lying. 

Yermac strove to seize the bottle which the other 
Cossack, doubtless, was about to empty. 


194 


THE EXILES. 


Do you want a drink ? ” stuttered the latter, offer- 
ing it to him. 

“ No; I do not want a drink, wretch ! ” said Yermac. 
“I want to save you from ruin — for all this will turn 
out ill for you.” 

“ If you don’t want a drink, let me be I ” said 
Nicolai. 

He sat down on the ground, braced the bottle 
between his donees, and stretched out his hand to take 
a wooden cup from the huge stone. When he had 
grasped it with unsteady fingers, he filled and emptied 
it several times, the while staring at Yermac with an 
air of defiance, but with wild looks. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur silently followed this scene 
with eager eyes. On turning, Yermac saw them. 

“Well,” said he to Yégor, “you have completely 
succeeded.” 

“ Not yet,” said the latter. 

At this moment, the Cossack let his head fall on one 
side and rolled over upon the floor of the yourte. Both 
he and his comrade were dead drunk. 

Then Yégor aroused the two Yakoutes, and directed 
them to get the teams in readiness. 

“ Master,” said Tekel, “ 3^ou shall be obeyed.” 

A moment later, the barking of the dogs announced 
that Yégor’s order was being executed. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur conversed rapidly in whis- 
pers ; the result of their conference was the decision 
tliat they must take the chief of police with them. To 
leave him behind seemed as yet too dangerous. 


THE EXILES. 195 

Yermac comprehended that they were talking about 
him and said, simply : 

“ What are you. going to do with me, Monsieur 
Séménojï? I can call you by your name now.” 

“ You can readily understand,” answered Yégor, 
“ that we are not going to abandon you in this place.” 

“But you count on abandoning these soldiers here, 
do you not ? ” 

“ Certainly ; they have horses. But what could you 
do on foot ? Besides, your society is still most agreea- 
ble to us, and we should be very sorry to be deprived 
of it.” 

“ I understand,” said Yermac, who bitterly repented 
of having allowed himself to be tricked. “ I can do 
nothing but obey,” added he. “But take care; a 
moment will come when I shall feel that I am alto- 
gether released from every obligation to you.” 

“ Released ! ” exclaimed M. Lafleur. “ But the bear 
with the collar, wretch! Have you forgotten the bear? 
But where would you have been, I ask of you ? — where 
would you have been had we not rescued 3'Ou ? You 
belong to us from the sole of your foot to the crown of 
your head — all that the bear might have devoured. 
Submit to be led — and with docility, my dear fellow.” 


196 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XVIL 


THE CHAMAN. 


HE right bank of the Kolima rises almost perpen- 



I diculaiiy everywhere ; in certain places the rocks 
of schist veined with red clay even slope over the 
stream. But, at the spot where the Omolon flows into 
the Kolima, the right bank suddenly becomes level. 
It is occupied by the settlement of Zalivina, in which 
with Cossacks and Russians (the descendants of exiles, 
or Cossacks from the ostrog of Anadirsk driven back 
by the Tchouktchis) are mingled, living in perfect 
harmony, Yakoutes and Youkaghiris. 

Upon the Kolima floated mists from the Arctic 
Ocean, which was then being solidified by the action 
of the cold. These mists had already moderated the 
temperature a trifle, when the “ warm wind ” began to 
blow, bringing with it more than thirty degrees of 
heat. 

Let us penetrate into one of those huts built of the 
floating wood deposited upon the banks by the periodi- 
cal spring inundations. Its walls were composed of 
beams placed one above another, the interstices being 
filled with moss and moistened potter’s clay. It was 
surrounded with a sloping bank of earth to protect it 
against the cold. Its roof was covered with earth well 
beaten down. 


THE EXILES. 197 

The interior was divided into several small apart- 
ments by a few low partitions. 

In the main apartment, a corner was occupied by the 
tchouvale, a kind of Yakoute chimney formed of 
willow branches twisted together basket fashion and 
plastered within and without with potter’s clay ; a hole 
cut in the roof gave passage to the smoke. 

This apartment was at once the kitchen and the 
sitting-room. The entire family worked and took their 
meals there. Two openings of a foot square on the 
southern side of the hut (closed in summer with eel 
skin) were now filled by plates of ice from five to six 
inches thick, which allowed slender threads of light to 
make their way into the interior. 

Upon one of the wide benches fastened to the parti- 
tion was lying a sick young girl. About her weie two 
native women, and two women of Russian origin, one 
of whom was accompanied by her husband. 

The women of Russian origin differed from the 
Yakoutes in having regular features and vigorous 
constitutions; they were taller and had hair of a 
golden hue, one of them being even pretty. They 
also differed from the natives in their costume. While 
the dark Yakoutes, with drooping eyes, were clad in 
garments of softened reindeer skin, the hair on the 
inside and the leather dyed red with the bark of the 
alder tree, the Russian ladies wore cotton garments. 
As coquetry is always present in women, the reindeer 
garments of the Yakoutes were trimmed on the sleeves 
with fine strips of beaver or river otter skin. 


198 


THE EXILES. 


The Yakoute women also wore pantaloons of rein- 
deer hide and, over all, a sort of tunic or kamley of 
untanned reindeer skin to which the smoke had commu- 
nicated a yellowish tinge. The two Russian ladies, 
who, as well as the Russian, were present as visitors, 
had chintz tunics with fur about the shoulders. Their 
heads were covered with pointed fur caps 'which 
descended upon their cheeks. 

The Russian was wrapped, above his leather breeches, 
in a large pelisse, and wore enormous boots over deer 
skin socks ; a huge knife hung from his belt, beside a 
pewter pipe with a very short stem and a bark box, 
containing a tinder steel and native tobacco made of 
the leaf of the timyane, mixed with larch wood, reduced 
to powder. 

A kettle placed over the fire contained fish for the 
dogs. 

Upon the table was set choice food, as if for a fête : 
a superb piece of reindeer meat, smoked reindeer 
tongues, frozen fish, strouganina, youkoula and tchir 
(the tchir is a very fat and highly esteemed fish, the 
flesh of which is preserved by drying it and pounding 
it together with a little suet). There were also cus- 
tards garnished with red caviar, and little pâtés made of 
the flour of the makarcha root and filled with minced 
fish entrails. A box held an ample supply of tea. 

The hut belonged to one of the most important 
natives, a descendant of the ancient chiefs, who had, 
notwithstanding, lost a portion of his authority over 
his tribe. 


THE EXILES. 


199 


Métek had not yet returned with his sledges loaded 
with the spoils of the summer chase. No one equalled 
him in pursuing the reindeer over the great lakes and 
in slaughtering them in the water, where they believed 
they had found a refuge. The season before last he had 
killed a hundred of them. His return was expected at 
the time of the passing of the herring. Schools of 
these fish had ascended the Kolima, and the dwellers 
upon its banks had taken more than a thousand of 
them at each haul of the net ; nevertheless, Métek was 
not yet in the bosom of his family. 

The sick young girl wore, over other garments of a 
more simple nature, a mantle of cotton tissue of varie- 
gated pattern, furnished with a cape from which hung 
martens’ tails. Her black hair was arranged in long 
twists, and was kept back from her forehead by a band. 

She frequently suffered from a strange nervous 
malady, to which all the inhabitants of the north of 
Siberia are more or less subject: the miryak. Now, 
she was a prey to violent convulsions. 

“ If her father were only here ! ” said the eldest of 
the Yakoute women to the visitors. She was the 
young invalid’s mother. “What is your advice in 
regard to the child, Anastaci Ivanitch ? ” 

“ Have patience ! ” said the Russian, seating himself. 
“ Your daughter is certainly under the malign influence 
of Agrafena of Djigansk ! ” 

This sorceress, Agrippine (Ogropono), the remem- 
brance of whom yet torments and troubles all Siberia, 


200 


THE EXILES. 


lived in a past century. Woe to him who had not for 
her all the consideration she exacted ! Transforming 
herself into a black crow, she pursued him while hunt- 
ing and travelling, raising against him violent wind 
storms, causing his baggage to fall into the water and 
even going so far as to make him lose his reason. At 
eighty years of age, the eyes of the sorceress were still 
as bright as the morning star, and her voice had that 
clear sound which ice sends forth when struck. 

Another fit seized upon the young girl when she 
heard the name of the sorceress of Djigansk uttered. 

At that moment, these words were pronounced in a 
very loud tone outside of the hut : 

“ Have you a kettle of tea ? ” 

“ What answer is to be returned ? ” asked Anastaci 
of the invalid’s mother. 

“ Ask how many are there,” said she. 

“ How many are you ? ” demanded the Russian. 

Howls of dogs prevented the response from being 
heard. 

“ How many ? ” repeated the Russian. 

“Seven I” 

“ Open I ” commanded the old Yakoute woman. 

Anastaci opened the door. 

Yégor and Yermac appeared. Upon their skin gar- 
ments was more than an inch of ice. Nadège followed 
them into the hut, supported by M. Lafleur. Tékel 
carried little Ladislas, who was so benumbed by the 
cold that he lay as if paralj^zed. Chort stood upon 


THE EXILES. 201 - 

the threshold and received from each the over garment 
removed on entering. 

Yégor advanced a few steps; then, perceiving the 
)’Oung Yakoute girl towards whom all the inhabitants 
of the hut had hurried, he pointed her out to the 
Parisian with his finger. 

The latter approached the patient. 

“ Keep away from me ! ” cried she, drawing back. 
“ You come from the cold ! ” 

“ What is the matter with her ? ” asked M. Lafleur, 
looking interrogatively at the mother. 

“Oh! Ogropono-Djiganskoy ! ” said the old woman. 

This was not the first time the dancing-master had 
heard of the accursed sorceress. He had an inspira- 
tion. To begin, he produced his violin and placed it 
on the table beside the good things prepared as if for 
a repast. 

He made a sign to his exhausted companions to seat 
themselves upon the benches extending around the 
apartment. 

“What mean these preparations for rejoicing?” 
asked he, pointing to the little pâtés, the custards 
and the frozen fish. 

“We expected the father of the family,” said the 
old Yakoute woman. “ He has not returned from the 
summer chase — and my daughter is under the influence 
of the sorceress! Two such misfortunes are a great 
deal for one day ! ” 

“How old is she?” demanded M. Lafleur. 

13 


202 


THE EXIIiES. 


“ It has snowed eighteen times since she came into 
the world.” 

“I am going to cure her!” 

“Are you a chaman?” (Conjurer and doctor.) 

“Yes, and I come from afar!” 

M. Lafleur wished to say, perhaps, that no man is 
either a prophet or a chaman in his own country ! 

Then, in a tone of authority, the Parisian directed 
his companions to take some of the delicacies spread 
out upon the table. 

“We are famished,” said he, “and shall eat every- 
thing there, for your husband will return neither to-day 
nor to-morrow ! ” 

“Will he ever return?” asked the old woman, 
anxiously. 

“My art reveals to me that he will ! ” audaciously 
answered M. Lafleur, assuming with a lie his rôle of 
sorcerer. He added ; “You shall judge of my 
power ! ” 

At this, he seized his violin and, despite the numb- 
ness of his fingers, drew from it harmonious sounds. 
He played a reverie, a cradle-song or a prayer. 

At the first notes, the attention of the young girl 
was awakened. Soon she changed her position and sat 
up ; then, quivering, her eyes lost in a kind of ecstasy, 
she advanced towards the musician, bowing before him 
with clasped hands, bending her body still more when 
he drew solemn sounds from his instrument and raising 
herself at the high notes, radiant, light, with out- 


THE EXILES. 


203 


stretched arms. Her nervous disease took a new 
character. 

At the last note, she sank heavily upon the floor. 
M. Lafleur raised her, carried her to the bench she 
had occupied a moment before, and said to the old 
Yakoute woman: 

“ Now, some tea, babouchka (mother), some tea, a 
great deal of tea, and your daughter is out of danger 
— cured for a long while — perhaps, forever ! ” 

Everybody was amazed. The mother of the invalid 
wept for joy. 

The other Yakoute woman, a homely creature, who 
bore upon her face rough tattoo marks, embraced M. 
Lafleur, after the fashion of the country. She was the 
invalid’s aunt — and an old maid ! 

Nadège said to Yégor: 

“ How good M. Lafleur is ! It was for us he did all 
that ! — it was to secure us a hospitable reception ! ” 

Yégor thought he could do no less than add his note 
to the concert of congratulations in progress around 
the pretended chaman. 

Yermac’s piteous look was a sight to see. “I have 
become the companion of a charlatan ! ” thought he. 

“ You are all welcome,” said the old Yakoute woman 
to her new guests. “ And now, partake of the best 
we possess. You are in the house of Métek, the first 
of his tribe. Before coming, following the course of 
the Omolon, to settle on the shores of the Kolima, he 
was chief.” 


204 


THE EXILES. 


Aided by the old maid, who had embraced M. 
Lafleur, M(^tek’s wife pushed the heavy table into the 
corner where the travellers were seated and, taking a 
seat herself, invited them to eat by setting the exam- 
ple. The young unfortunate, exorcised by the chaman 
of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, placed herself at the 
side of her liberator. 

The latter did not lose a mouthful. He ate four 
pieces at a time, as they say, althdugh the food was 
entirely devoid of salt. 

“ Let us not forget the tea ! ” cried he, after his 
hunger was somewhat appeased. “ It is necessary for 
the invalid — and for us ! ” 

Three days had elapsed since the fugitives had dis- 
embarrassed themselves of their Cossack escort, and 
they had partaken of nothing warm after quitting the 
yourte of refuge. 

The request of the chaman for tea was taken to 
herself by the old maid, who, with a seductive smile, 
made a significant gesture ; she would look after it, 
and it would be good ! 

M. Lafleur then noticed that the Yakoute old maid 
wore, over her reindeer skin pantaloons and under her 
kamley, an immense crinoline. This crinoline, which 
was all the rage in Paris a number of years ago, was 
evidently making a tour of the world. 

Chort appeared at the door. 

‘‘ What about the dogs?” demanded he. 

The dogs were howling without, as if they knew 
they were excluded from the feast. 


THE EXILES. 


205 


“We will give them the fish intended for ours,” 
said Metek’s wife, to relieve them from suspense. 

Chort was directed to carry out the kettle which 
was boiling in the tchouvale. 

As to Wab, that intelligent- animal ran around the 
table, receiving morsels right and left. 

“You will sleep here,” said the old woman to the 
travellers. 

Yermac had scarcely touched the food placed before 
him. With his head in his hands and his elbows on 
the table, he was plunged in deep .thought. Never 
had a representative of the law and authority been 
placed in a stranger situation ! That he should find 
himself constrained by circumstances to share the 
fortune and the wants of rebellious subjects whom he 
ought to be bringing to punishment! But had not the 
moment come to break this bond of complicity with 
them which had been only too long in force? His 
obligations? But is a magistrate ever bound to keep 
his word with malefactors, whatever he may have 
promised them ? If Métek returned to the village, in 
his quality of chief, could he not summon him, declare 
that he was the victim of violence and demand assist- 
ance to take the fugitives back to Sredne-Kolimsk, 
shunned by them on their road, where would be found, 
in the detachment of Cossacks furnished by tiie Stan- 
itsa and subject to the orders of the Ipravsnik of the 
town, a force more than sufficient to assure the triumph 
of the law ? 




206 


THE EXILES 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

AT THE MERCY OF A HURRICANE. 


HE chief of police was seated, as on the preceding 



I days, in M. Lafleur’s narta. The fugitives were 
fast leaving in the distance the settlement where they 
had been so hospitably received. 

Why had not Yermac followed up his resolution to 
betray them? Because the chief Métek, upon whom 
he had counted, had not returned. He had been com- 
pelled to resume the journey with his companions 
without opposition, seeming a very unimportant per- 
sonage beside the all-powerful chaman. 

The nartas were speeding along the very steep right 
bank of the Kolima, going in the direction of Nijni- 
Kolimsk, the travellers intending to pass this last Rus- 
sian station. Yermac thought he would be set at 
liberty when the fugitives reached the frontiers of the 
country of the Tchouktchis. 

In the middle of the day, the weather suddenly 
changed ; grayish mists arose from behind the wooded 
hills left by the travellers on their right. 

These mists indicated the approach of a pourga, a 
tempest peculiar to the Siberian regions and one e^f 
the greatest obstacles to a winter journey across the 
solitudes of snow. Like the norther of the southern 


THE EXILES. 


2or 


latitudes, the pourga often comes on unexpectedly 
without the least warning and passes, sometimes for 
more than a week, through successive phases of violence 
and fury. 

Ordinarily, this tempest is not accompanied by a fall 
of snow, but it is characterized by immense whirling 
masses of snow which the wind tears from the plains 
and toundras and which it transports afar, in thick and 
suffocating clouds which prevent one from seeing at a 
distance of four paces. The air is literally obstructed 
with thick flakes, which, in a few seconds, wall up, 
so to speak, one’s eyes and nostrils. The force of 
the wind renders standing upright an impossibility. 
Advancing in such weather is not to be thought of, and 
the unfortunate surprised by one of these tempests can 
only bury himself under his furs behind his sledge and 
wait there without other shelter, shivering and benumbed 
with cold, for days and nights, until the wind weakens. 
If, before that hour of deliverance, his provisions give 
out, all his efforts to escape from death will be useless, 
the frightful hurricane bearing away whatever cries he 
may utter. Worn out with cold, lassitude and hunger, 
he sinks beneath the snow, the white winding-sheet of 
which speedily marks with a slight undulation the 
place of his final repose. 

The black cloud, which for an hour had hung about 
the horizon, spread rapidly towards the south and 
enveloped with sombre mists the last glimmers of the 
Arctic twilight. The wind, loaded with hoarse bellow- 


208 


THE EXILES. 


îngs brought from the ice-floes and ice-flelds of the 
Polar Sea, hurled itself upon the plain raising whirl- 
winds of snow, which sped like tall phantoms through 
the darkness towards the thick of the advancing 
tempest. 

Yégor had scarcely time to order the two nartas to 
be brought together before the hurricane burst upon 
the fugitives. Soon every sound was lost in the roar 
of the tempest, while the snow in flaky clouds absorbed 
the air and impeded respiration. 

Yégor and Nadège could no longer see even their 
team of dogs, and, in the brief pause they made a short 
time afterwards to assure themselves that no one was 
missing, they perceived that the second sledge, in which 
were M. Lafleur and Yermac, had not followed them. 
Five minutes, ten minutes elapsed, and still the two 
men did not come. They uttered cries and Yègor 
discharged his pistols. He despatched Tekel as far 
back as he dare go, but the Yakoute returned, saying 
that he could not see two paces before him and that 
the gale had effaced all traces of their passage. 

Yégor desired to wait, hoping that the delayed sledge 
would rejoin them. He advised Nadège and Ladislas 
to descend and take refuge behind the nurta. It was 
but a very weak defence against such a loosening of 
the elements. The young girl and the lad could 
breathe only with great difficulty by holding their faces 
almost against the ground. 

The obscurity rendered the use of the compass 


THE EXILES. 


209 


impossible, and hence Yégor no longer knew where they 
were. But had he been able to recognize his road, in 
what would it have served him ? They were the play- 
things of the wind, which drove them before it, pre- 
venting them from taking any other course than its 
own. 

The white gloom thickened, growing more and more 
opaque. Suddenly, a half-suffocated cry, a cry of 
desperation, rang out from the midst of the whirling 
cloud. 

“ Monsieur Lafleur ! Monsieur Lafleur ! ” answered 
Ydgor, Nadège and Ladislas, in one voice. 

The dark and vague profile of a narta passed before 
them with giddy speed, as if drawn along in a whirl- 
wind. 

“To the sledge!” commanded Yégor. “We must 
follow our friend’s narta I ” 

The wind had extreme impetuosity. It swept the 
plain roaring strangely, howling as howl the wolves. 
Tékel had no need to excite the dogs ; the poor animals 
shot off madly. 

“ Hold me tightly,” cried Nadège, drawing closer to 
Yégor: “it seems to me as if the wind would blow me 
away ! ” 

After an hour of frightful travelling — an hour which 
seemed to them a century! — the fugitives perceived 
from the scattered bushes, standing out blackly from 
the whiteness of the snow, that they were approaching 
a river; but the wind and the density of the snow 


210 


THE EXILES. 


which enveloped them had so increased that they could 
see nothing. 

Suddenly, they found themselves in the midst of a 
forest, the tall trees of which formed an obstacle to the 
mutinous blast and its icy breath. They asked them- 
selves by what miracle they had reached it, and how 
it happened that they were still alive ! 

“ Monsieur Lafleur I ” cried Yégor. 

“ Present ! ” answered the dancing-master, whose 
sledge had been the first to stop. 

“ You have had a narrow escape. Monsieur Lafleur,” 
said Yégor; “I thought I would have to wear mourning 
for you ! ” 

“ Ah ! ma foi ! I thought it was the end of the 
world ! The learned say that we shall perish by cold, 
and I suppose the snow hurricane will have its part in 
the closing scenes of the last hour ! ” 

They talked without seeing each other, in the midst 
of the obscurity. 

The Yakoute Tékel had, meanwhile, gathered alder 
and fir branches and kindled a fire with them. 

The fugitives uttered cries of joy on again seeing 
light and fire. They hastened to the blaze to warm 
themselves — they were covered with snow and scarcely 
recognizable. Yermac made very strange grimaces ! 

“Ladislas! Where is Ladislas?” asked Nadège, 
looking around her for the little Pole. 

Alas ! he was not to be found ! He had been torn 
from the sledge by the terrible hurricane ! 


THE EXILES. 


211 


Yégor called Wab. He fastened bis dark lantern to 
the dog’s collar and, after pronouncing the name of 
Ladislas several times, sent the animal to search for 
the child. 

After being gone an hour, Wab returned alone. The 
animal was shaking with cold ; from the bloody marks 
on its paws, they saw that the creature had thoroughly 
searched a long distance, but without result. It had 
returned to the forest that it might not perish from 
exhaustion. 

Nadège wept, repeating the name of her adopted 
brother. Yégor and M. Lafleur, silent and afflicted, 
thought of the poor child lost on the frozen plain and 
struggling in the darkness against the furious and icy 
wind, amid the blinding snow. 

Yermac was touched by the grief of the fugitives and 
strove to impart to them, in regard to the lad, a hope 
he did not share. 

The two Yakoutes prepared a shelter by making a 
deep excavation in the snow. The travellers spread 
their coverings in it, and took refuge there to await a 
lull in the storm. 

The dogs were unharnessed and grouped themselves 
in a circle on the snow, in which they dug holes to 
obtain warmth. A second fire was kindled at the edge 
of the forest by Yegor’s order. He hoped that Ladislas 
might, perhaps, be guided by the light of this fire and 
rejoin them. 


212 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

LADISLAS AND THE G O L D-E O B B E E S . 

W HEN the band of gold-robbers to which Yer- 
mac’s son belonged quitted the neighborhood 
of the consumed forest of Ostrovoyé, leaving for dead 
the chief of police, Dimitri assumed the command 
of it. 

The young man told the truth when he assured his 
father that he had participated neither in the assassina- 
tion of Major Dobson and his servant nor in that of 
the Russian Khabaroff. The band had been renewed 
several times and, when it attacked the chief of police, 
there remained of its former members, upon whom the 
stigma of the murders rested, only the chief Koskiiitine 
shot and killed by Yermac. 

The others — considered as associates — had upon 
their consciences only the rough means employed to 
procure the gold stolen by the miners. This gold they 
carried into China across the frontier of the Amoor, 
employing against the Cossacks charged with guarding 
the banks of the river now force and now stratagem. 
They hid their gold dust in loaves of bread, introduced 
it ill small ingots into their horses’ hoofs or placed it 
in the stomachs of fish, transforming themselves accord- 
ing to circumstances into merchants or fishermen. 


THE EXILES. 


213 


The alarm spread by Yermac, by means of the 
Cossacks, caused redoubled watchfulness among the 
posts scattered along the left bank of the immense 
Asiatic stream. Besides, when the escape of an exile 
is the matter in hand, nothing is neglected to stop 
him ; if necessary, the Russian government would put 
an army in motion to arrest a single man, in order to 
discourage other attempts of the same kind. 

The bandits commanded by Dimitri found them- 
selves compelled to change their plans and to give up, 
for a time, crossing the Amoor. They went towards the 
Gulf of Penjinsk, situated at the most northern point 
of the Sea of Okhotsk. At this spot, they counted 
upon succeeding in crossing the Stanovoi Mountains, 
by ascending the Omolon to its source. 

They had procured a number of nartas drawn by 
reindeer purchased in the Yakoute villages, and, 
forcing their journey, had already arrived among the 
spurs of the great Stanovoi’ chain, with their bare and 
snowy peaks. They did not hesitate to venture among 
these terrible mountains, from whence it is rare that 
one can make his exit when he has entered their 
sombre and inextricable labyrinths. 

Yegor, also, had for a moment entertained the 
thought of taking this route. He knew, thanks to 
his investigations, that every summer the natives and 
the Russian half-breeds from the shores of the Sea of 
Okhotsk assemble together in a village named Tchim- 
ikan, at the mouth of the Ouda, to exchange furs. 


214 


THE EXILES. 


fresh meat and fish for spirituous liquors, calico and 
tobacco brought by the American whalers; but the 
fear of finding Russian vessels in that interior and 
altogether Muscovite sea had caused him to abandon 
the project. 

The gold-robbers could manage matters easier by 
mingling with the trappers (promichléniks), and such 
was, in fact, their intention. 

The last exploit of the band had been the robbery 
of the mail which departs monthly from Ajan — a sta- 
tion in the district of Okhotsk, founded in 1848 by a 
Russo- American fur company. It may be said, in 
passing, that the postal road, a common, narrow path 
cut through the forests from Ajan to Yakoutsk, was 
used by the Russian government to transport arms 
and munitions to its possessions on the Pacific, during 
the Crimean war. At intervals of from thirty to forty 
kilomètres are postal stations, where reindeer are kept 
for the mail and the few travellers who venture into 
these regions. 

The mail carries every month about a dozen letters; 
it is entrusted to a courier, who, ordinarily, reaches 
Yakoutsk in ten days by travelling day and night. In 
winter, the journey is made with reindeer harnessed in 
pairs to a narta ; in summer, the reindeer are replaced 
by horses. This postal route connects Yakoutsk, the 
capital of eastern Siberia, with Kamtchatka. 

The robbery of the mail could not be of the least 
profit to the Siberian bandits ; but it furnished them 


THE EXILES. 


215 


an opportunity of maintaining their state of revolt 
against the laws and authority. 

One evening, the bandits halted at the entrance of a 
narrow valley, there to establish their encampment in 
the open air. The night was dark, but the sky clear 
and the temperature comparatively mild. Besides 
Dimitri, the band included two Tungnses, a Lamoute 
from the Bay of Tausk, a Koriak, a Ghiliak fisherman, 
a Russian convict escaped from the colony on the 
Island of Saghalien, the fierce Cossack Ivan with 
whom our readers are already acquainted, and, lastly, 
another escaped exile. It will be seen that the band 
had been augmented by the reception of several new 
recruits. 

The Lamoute had drawn from his pocket one of 
those enormous agates found in the beds of rivers, 
which the natives use for fire-stones. He began to 
strike it against his tinder-steel, employing for tinder 
excrescences from the birch tree boiled. This tinder 
plunged in a small bone box, in Avhich was a supply of 
sulphur, procured for him a flame which he utilized to 
light the bivouac fire. 

During this operation, Ivan, axe in hand, was furi- 
ously felling the young pines of the vicinity, and 
Koschevine was carrying the wood with which to feed 
the blaze. 

The two Tiinguses had already established them- 
selves beside a dead horse, of which they were devour- 
ing the flesh scarcely presented by them to the flames: 


216 


THE EXILES. 


it was the horse of one of them, an old hunter by the 
name of Ephraim, a great slayer of bears in the dis- 
trict of Okhotsk, who had the reputation of slaughter- 
ing or capturing at least twenty of these animals 
every summer. Ephraim, too tightly squeezed by the 
Ipravsnik of his village — a young Russian of thirt}^ 
who passed his time in getting drunk in company with 
the priest — had treated him as he treated his bears and 
had aftervvards escaped by flight. 

He had met the band of gold-robbers only a few 
hours before, and had immediately become a member 
of it. His horse, competing in swiftness with the 
reindeer, had broken a leg and, for that reason, been 
condemned to death. The old Tunguse, who had not 
too much feeling, had slain it after the fashion of the 
country. These Tunguses, though in general mild and 
pacific, are very cruel towards animals. Thus, their 
favorite mode of killing a horse which is to be eaten 
is to throw it upon the ground, tie it firrah' with ropes 
and then to open the breast and plunge in the arm to 
compress the heart with the hand until death ensues. 
They claim that the meat is much improved by this 
process. 

Old Ephraim and the other Tunguse were capable of 
eating the horse before the breaking up of the encamp- 
ment. 

The latter, named Avaram, with bronzed skin, very 
prominent cheek bones and small eyes black and bright 
as those of the Tartars, belonged to a Tunguse group 


THE EXILES. 


217 


of the south-east of Siberia. Entirely clothed in 
reindeer skin, his chief garment was a kind of large 
fur overcoat, open in front. To its neck was attached, 
to be used at need, a species of very gay hood — a 
malachi — made of the skins of red, black and gray 
foxes arranged in alternate bands, with a border of sea 
otter fur; tight-fitting skin breeches, with the hair 
inside, covered his thighs ; his feet and legs were 
enclosed in reindeer skin boots with seal skin soles, 
reaching above his knees. 

This Tunguse had joined the band of gold-robbers 
in the hope of gaining with it sufficient to pay the 
price of his betrothed, the daughter of one of the 
golovas or great chiefs of his tribe, a rare beauty whom 
he had obtained at the exorbitant figure of a hundred 
reindeer — a veritable fortune. Among the Tunguses 
of the south-east, the price of a w'oman varies from one 
reindeer to a hundred. They tell, however, of beauties 
of an inferior -order obtained for a pipe of tobacco. 
These circumstances do not prevent the marriages from 
being celebrated by a Russian priest. 

The other bandits, after having killed a passably 
foundered reindeer, roasted stakes cut from the animal; 
the Koriak and the Lamoute, on their side, prepared a 
soup with the contents of the reindeer’s stomach. 

This Koriak was a young man, the sole survivor of a 
family dead of hunger. When he related to his com- 
panions that each year, at the close of winter, famine 
decimated the inhabitants of Toumane because, at that 
14 


218 


THE EXILES. 


time, the supply of fish caught during the summer gave 
out: 

“ Why don’t you continue to fish?” asked one of the 
bandits of him. 

“ Ah ! I don’t know ! ” answered he. “ The Russian 
government furnishes us with packthread to make nets, 
but we give it to the Lamoutes on condition that they 
shall fish for us. Unfortunately, the most famished 
among us eat all at the beginning of the winter ! ” 

The Lamoute wore suspended from his neck an 
enormous silver medal, the gift of the Czar, received as 
a reward for the assistance he had rendered his country- 
men during one of their periodical famines. These 
spring famines are the scourge of Siberia. This medal, 
strangely placed on the bosom of a brigand, won for 
the entire band a great deal of respect from the 
natives. 

The Ghiliak fisherman was a native of the lower 
Amoor country, forced to flee after having slain one of 
his relatives who had stolen from him the flint of his 
gun. He feared, not without reason, that the friends 
of the defunct might retaliate according to the Ghiliak 
code : an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This 
barbarian, who was very superstitious and inclined to 
idolatry, had been baptized in accordance with the 
Greek rite, and wore about his neck several little 
metal crosses. His name was Michaeloff. 

As to Ivan, that former Cossack had abandoned the 
post of the region of the Amoor, where he lived as a 


THE EXILES. 


219 


soldier-laborer, colonizing the country. These Cossacks 
owe a service of fifteen years, for which they receive an 
annual salary of three roubles, the government furnish- 
ing them, in addition, with rations of black bread and, 
sometimes, of tea. Their nourishment consists of 
salmon which they must catch themselves, and which, 
with different wild fruits and the bark and roots of 
several kinds of trees, forms a diet but little varied. 

Those who live in the vicinity of the Bay of Castries 
consume a great quantity of very large and fine oysters. 
We know that the Russians visited the Amoor, for the 
first time, only in 1843 ; but, about ten years later, they 
succeeded in obtaining from the Chinese the cession of 
all the regions stretching from the left bank of the 
river to the previous boundary of Siberia, gaining by 
this “ rectification ” of the frontiers an immense and 
rich territory. 

Ivan, who had grown weary of the life of a colonist, 
had deserted. He often mentioned to his companions 
this curious circumstance : upon the shores of the great 
Asiatic river, the animals of the cold countries meet 
those of the burning regions of the south. The rein- 
deer there becomes the prey of the Bengal tiger, and 
the wild boar and the badger live, side by side, with 
the hare of the pole and the glutton. 

Koschevine, the Russian, had escaped from the mines 
of Nertchinsk, following the course of the Amoor in 
the hope of being received by the native population 
established on its banks. He succeeded in passing all 


220 


THE EXILES. 


the Chinese posts in a small boat, keeping along the 
left shore of the stream, living upon the produce of his 
carabine and enduring great privations; at last he 
reached the Sea of Okhotsk, where he counted upon 
finding an asylum on board some sliip. In this he was 
unsuccessful; then, all chance of safety having van- 
ished, he retraced his steps, resolved to return to the 
mines, where, nevertheless, a severe punishment awaited 
him, rather than die of wretchedness and hunger. But, 
after having scoured the country for some time, he had 
met the band of gold-robbers and had enrolled himself 
in its ranks. 

When the bandits had satisfied their hunger, they 
loaded the fire with wood, and wrapped themselves in 
the warmest and largest coverings they possessed to 
sleep in the open air. 

The night gave promise of being quiet, when, sud- 
deid}^ cries were heard — cries of terror uttered by a 
child. 

The men around the camp fire seized their weapons 
and half raised themselves ; soon they heard the snow 
cracking beneath the hoofs of a reindeer harnessed to 
a little sledge, and saw behind this sledge a pack of 
wolves hurrying along, howling and menacing. 

As the sledge approached the bivouac, the intimi- 
dated wolves slackened their pace. The child, beside 
himself with fear, cried out incessantly. When the 
reindeer stopped, the poor little being fell inanimate 
into the arras of Dimitri and Koschevine who had gone 


THE EXILES. 


221 


to his aid, while old Ephraim, his Tungnse companion 
Avaram, the Lamoiite and the Koriak fired numerous 
murderous arrows at the wolves and frightened them 
with discharges of fire-arms. 

The inanimate child — half dead with terror, hunger 
and cold — was Ladislas. 

The Lamoute saw his state of exhaustion, and taking 
from a bag a piece of frozen mare’s milk, he broke 
some fragments from it with a hatchet and placed them 
in a copper pan over the fire. 

The milk, speedily boiling and foaming, was pre- 
sented to the lad. The first drops introduced into his 
mouth restored him to consciousness. 


222 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XX. 

A LITTLE HERO. 

H OW had Ladislas escaped death, lost, alone, ship- 
wrecked, as it were, in the midst of the immense 
ocean of snow? After being hurled from the sledge 
into the thick of the hurricane, he arose safe and sound 
and succeeded in crawling under a bush which served 
him as a refuge. 

The next day, after a night of watchfulness and 
anguish, he courageously set out in the direction it was 
probable the sledges had taken. He knew that the 
fugitives were going towards the north, and had 
learned how to tell where he was by studying certain 
undulations of the snow formed by the wind. But the 
plain stretched out in its terrible solitude beneath the 
winding sheet of winter. 

A few stunted birches and willows, which arose here 
and there, resembled white monks at prayer upon the 
marble of a tomb. The sun disappeared below the red 
horizon — it seemed to have melted in a conflagration — 
and great pink reflections ran shivering over the 
silvered ground. The night came on and Ladislas had 
not seen a living creature. He sought a shelter in a 
forest. After having eaten a little frozen bread which 
he found in the pockets of his pelisse and drunk a few 
drops of brandy from the small flask he bore about 


THE EXILES. 


223 


him, he fell asleep, overcome with fatigue, at the foot 
of a tree, behind an old trunk about which the heaped 
up snow formed a sort of rampart. 

Very early awake, he saw the day return after long 
and cruel hours of waiting, and was much surprised to 
perceive at a short distance a reindeer browsing on the 
tender portions of the branches of the birches. 

He ran towards the animal. To judge from the 
saddle and leather bridle it wore, it was a reindeer pre- 
pared for mounting which had strayed away. In fact, 
it allowed itself to be approached and seized by a strap. 

The child climbed upon it, and thought himself 
saved when, trusting to the instinct of the intelligent 
creature, he realized that, instead of going heedlessly 
forward, it was following a path leading to some inhab- 
ited spot. 

In a few hours, he found himself in the midst of a 
Yakoute village, half covered by the débris of the 
recent pourga. The huts of this village were scattered 
about upon the snow, as if thrown there by chance. 
They were, nevertheless, constructed with exceptional 
solidity of trunks and branches of trees. 

The villagers spoke a little Russian, and Ladislas 
received from them the most cordial hospitality. They 
warmed him, gave him an abundant repast, and helped 
him, the following day, to make with some birch limbs 
and straps a little sledge to which he harnessed his 
reindeer. He asked of them information concerning 
the country and what direction it was necessary to 
take to reach Nijni-Kolimsk — the sole means, by leaving' 


224 


THE EXILES. 


that station to his left, thought he, of again finding 
Yégor and Nadège, who were to. pass to the east of that 
town. 

Two hours later, he started on his journey, driving a 
sledge for the first time in his life. This vehicle was 
of the most elementary description. Well wrapped in 
his furs, the little Pole held in his hand the rod which 
serves to direct the reindeer and to stop them in case 
of too rapid descent on snow-covered slopes. He went 
with extreme swiftness, hoping to reach Yegor’s nartas 
on the morrow. He took no rest at night, and, as the 
sky was clear, guided himself by the polar star. 

Of all these things, Ladislas told only what he 
judged proper to tell to the ill-looking men by whom 
he was surrounded, who questioned him with curiosity, 
greatly astonished to meet a child and a foreigner in 
these frightful solitudes. 

“ And the wolves ? ” demanded Dimitri of him — 
“the wolves that were howling behind you, ready to 
devour you? Were you not afraid of them ? ” 

“The wolves?” said the child to the latter, whose 
red pantaloons, ornamented with silver and numerous 
and varied weapons, sufficiently indicated the chief of 
the band — “ the wolves that were pursuing me ? They 
were behind me for I know not how many hours ! ” 

“ They numbered at least two hundred! ” said Ivan. 

“At first,” resumed Ladislas, “on turning around, I 
saw one — one only — which did not frighten me much. 
It trotted along, always maintaining the same distance, 
lessening or increasing its pace according to the speed 


THE EXILES. 


226 


of the sledge. But a second wolf that I noticed on 
the top of a small hill joined the other. A few minutes 
afterwards, on looking in their direction, I counted 
three of them ! Then there were four, then five, then 
six, then eight, then ten, then twelve, and then twenty. 
I dare not look again. I could no longer count them, 
so large!}’ had their number increased ! But I urged 
on my reindeer, exciting it by every possible means. 
At last, I saw from a long distance the fire of your 
encampment. I hoped to find beside that fire — but, no 
matter Î You have, indeed, saved my life, my friends, 
and I am very grateful to you ! ” 

The young lad spoke with an assurance that de- 
lighted these fierce men, deprived of all family joys. 
They set before the child the best provisions they 
possessed — their dainties, so to speak. 

“ Where are you going? ” asked Dimitri of him. 

The chief of the brigands had a mild and intelligent 
countenance which pleased Ladislas. 

Nevertheless, he hesitated to reply. 

“You can speak,'’ said Dimitri, taking the lad a little 
aside. “You have nothing to fear from me, despite 
my array of sabres and pistols. I belong to an honest 
family and my father, who died but recently, left 
behind him a reputation for rectitude. At Moscow, 
everybody knows Yermac’s worth.” 

This name struck the lad. 

“ I knew, bearing that name,” said he, “ the chief of 
police of Yakoutsk.” 


226 


THE EXILES. 


“The chief of police? Well, child, hé was my 
father.” 

“ And he is dead ! ” cried Ladislas, alarmed for 
Nadège and Yégor. “ But only three days ago he was 
still with us ! ” 

“ How ? — with you ? — with whom ? ” 

“ With my adopted sister and the man who is going 
to marry her — and with M. Lafleur. Do you not know 
M. Lafleur, the dancing-master?” 

“ I left my father for dead very far from here, near 
the forest of Ostrovoyé, at the foot of the Verkho- 
Yansk Mountains,” said the chief of the bandits. 

“Well, it was just there we met him, received him, 
disinterred him — how shall I express it?” 

“ Disinterred him, child ? ” 

“ Oh ! it is a strange story ! Look ! this revolver 
belonged to him ! ” 

“ My father alive ! ” murmured Dimitri, overcome 
with surprise; and an irresistible desire to see him 
again in life and obtain his pardon took possession of 
him. “ Do you know,” resumed he, lowering his 
voice, “ where we can rejoin him — as well as your 
friends? ” 

“Yes,” said the lad; “in the vicinity of Nijni- 
Kolimsk, near the frontier of the country of the 
Tchouktchis.” 

“Not another word,” said Yermac’s son. “In a 
moment, when all are asleep, I will tell you what we 
will do to again see before long your friends — and 
my father ! ” 


THE EXILES. 


227 


CHAPTER XXI. 

AN ELK HUNT. 

I T was only after every effort had been fruitlessly 
made to recover the little Pole, that Yégor suc- 
ceeded in inducing the weeping and inconsolable 
Nadège to consent to resume the journey. 

The succeeding days were of the most sorrowful 
description. The fugitives decided that they must 
follow the left bank of the Kolima. Ladislas had been 
lost not far from the river. He knew that they were 
going towards the north to reach the Arctic Ocean. 
If he were still alive, he would, perhaps, perceive the 
fire that they would light on establishing each encamp- 
ment and would keep up every night upon an elevated 
shore. 

Besides these reasons, Yégor had others for not 
going too far from the banks of the river. The provi- 
sions brought in the sledges had greatly diminished 
during the forced journeys across the desert of snow. 
But there existed on the borders of the Kolima, 
between the BolchoyrAniony and the Mali-Aniouy 
rivers which flow into it, plains sheltered by lofty 
mountains from the winds of the north. The vegeta- 
tion there is incomparably more beautiful. One finds 
there the aspen, the poplar, the willow and the cedar ; 


228 


THE EXILES. 


after having crossed the icy and bare toundra, these 
plains are the oases* of these solitudes. The forests 
which clothe the sides of the mountains are inhabited 
by herds of reindeer ; elk, foxes and brown and black 
bears are met there in large numbers. 

Yégor thought that it would be easy to kill some of 
these animals, which would furnish them with food for 
several days. 

Swift as the lightning, the two sledges, without 
leaving a trace, glided anew over the icy stretch. 
Nadège, her eyes red with weeping and her heart sad, 
silently and sorrowfully thought of her dear Ladislas. 
She could not believe him lost. A secret presentiment 
told her to hope and that she would, perhaps, see him 
again. M. Lafleur, usually so loquacious, was also 
silent. Plunged in his reflections, with lowered head 
and compressed lips, he internally consoled himself for 
the present by thinking of the future. He was busy 
making plans. 

His mind, with the rapidity of the electric spark, 
sped from Yakoutsk to the ice of the pole, from the 
pole to Paris, upon the Place de la Bastille lighted up 
by that bright sun of Thermidor sung of by Béranger, 
and from Paris to Château-Thierry, in the little house 
he had inherited from his maternal uncle. It was in 
this house that M. Lafleur intended to found the 
museum which was to bear his name and attract, every 
summer, caravans of visitors to the town which gave 
birth to the great French fable-writer. The former 


THE EXILES. 


229 


dancing-master had definitively renounced his idea of 
seizing upon the first occasion that should present 
itself to return and solicit his pardon, that he might 
continue to teach country-dances and good manners to 
the daughters of the high Siberian functionaries. 
True, the affairs of his millinery shop remained to be 
settled, but that was not much. He willingly sacri- 
ficed his profits. Being a man of foresight, M. Lafleur 
had not kept his savings in a stocking in the depths of 
a drawer ; neither had he entrusted them to the Jewish 
usurers of the country. Twice a year, at collection 
time, he had sent, by the hands of a reliable agent, his 
funds to Paris, to the address of a solid and honorable 
house — the house of Vernes et Ce. 

]\I. Lafleur, so far as worldly wealth was concerned, 
was, therefore, exempt from care, and he was approach- 
ing an age when it is permitted to a man to repose and 
enjoy the fruit of his toil. He had yet a veiy long 
road to travel over to return to Paris and Château- 
Thierry ; but, at the rate at which he was going, the 
distance was, so to speak, visibly diminishing. 

At his side, Yermac, well wrapped in his furs, kept 
his eyes closed and seemed asleep. He was as motion- 
less and stiff as a frozen corpse. 

Directed by Yégor, who took his eyes neither from 
his compass nor the little map sketched by him at the 
ostrog from a wall map, prepared by the Esaoule in 
accordance with the most reliable information he had 
been able to gather, Tdkel drove so admirably that 


230 


THE EXILES. 


the fugitives were enabled to follow the surest and 
shortest route. 

The teams of dogs, furnished b}^ the Esaoule of 
Sredné-Kolimsk, did marvels in the hands of Tekel 
and Chort. The dogs of the north of Siberia have 
long and slender ears, always erect, and their tails are 
thick. Some have smooth hair and others curly hair 
of different shades. 

At the head of each team was the most active and 
best disciplined dog. It kept the others, less intelli- 
gent or more stubborn, in the right direction, prevent- 
ing them, especially, from turning aside from the road 
to follow the tracks of animals. 

Once, Yégor’s animals precipitated themselves on 
the footprints of a fox marked upon the snow ; already, 
the dogs were howling with all their might and it 
seemed as if nothing could arrest them, — when the 
leader, turning in the opposite direction, commenced 
to bark as if it had seen some animal worthier of 
pursuit. 

Tekel and Chort encouraged their dogs by whistling 
and by cries peculiar to themselves, to which the 
intelligent creatures had soon become accustomed. 
They drove in the Siberian fashion, without using 
a whip. The whip is replaced by the ostle, a stout rod 
four feet long, tipped with iron at its lower end. The 
drivers hurl the ostle at lazy or disobedient dogs and 
pick it up very adroitly as they pass it. 

Each dog of the teams belonging to the settled 


THE EXILES. 


231 


tribes of Siberia has a complete little set of harness, 
consisting of a wide belt across the chest, by means of 
which it pulls. This belt is kept in place by another 
strap, fastened to it and passing around the body of 
the animal. The whole is attached to the principal 
strap by a short trace. The sledge dogs are accus- 
tomed to utter a prolonged howl at the moment of 
setting out. 

It was with an ample supply of dried fish that the 
fugitives fed their dogs. Their own food was neither 
more agreeable nor of better quality. 

When the sledges stopped that day, Tékel sought 
for a suitable place in which to pass the rest of the day 
and the night. He soon returned, making a sign to 
Yégor to advance. The spot was perfectly sheltered. 
They felled several poplar trees to form a rampart. In 
the corner of this rampart was erected the pologue 
intended for Nadège, the interior of which was prompt- 
ly heated by means of a lamp. They broke the ice of 
the Kolima to obtain water; this ice was as yet but 
two feet thick. A great bivouac fire, fed with wood 
furnished by the neighboring trees, spread warmth 
about it. The most important thing now was to put 
something comforting and substantial on this fire. 

Yégor and Tékel took each a gun and, preceded by 
Wab, plunged cautiously, with watchful eyes, into the 
bushes and thickets in search of feathered or furred 
game. The Yakoute, with the instinct of the savage, 
examined the leaves of the bushes to see if they did 


232 


THE EXILES. 


not bear marks of the bites of deer or elk. Some- 
times he paused and listened attentively, signing to 
Yégor to remain silent and motionless. Wab, like 
the docile and intelligent dog it was, held itself in 
readiness, its paws uplifted, interrogating with a look 
its master and the Yakoute. 

Tékel suddenly dropped quickly and, hiding behind 
the trunk of a tree, remained motionless, squatting in 
the snow. He was evidently watching some animal. 
Yégor, his finger on the trigger of his gun, stood ready 
to act at the first signal. 

After a minute had elapsed, the Yakoute arose and 
signed to his master to follow him. 

They descended towards the river. 

“Deer tracks?” said Yégor, in a whisper, pointing 
to imprints on the snow. 

Tékel shook his head. 

“ These are elk tracks,” answered he, in a low tone. 
“The hoofs are slender, straight, deeply cleft and 
united at the top by a membrane which permits the 
foot to spread and place itself, without sinking, on 
the fresh snow or the moist soil.” 

Yégor knew that elk, like stags, always go in herds 
of from fifteen to twenty. He ardently hoped that he 
and his companion might succeed in killing, at least, 
one of these agile and courageous animals. The male 
elk attains the size of an ox, and weighs as much as 
five hundred kilos. Its huge, elongated head, termi- 
nated by a thick and wide muzzle which gives it the 


THE EXILES. 


233 


face of an ass, is crowned with antlers which widen 
into a triangular top in the form of a shovel. The elk 
is, after the reindeer, the animal most useful to the 
tribes of the north. Its flesh is smoked and preserved, 
its firm and pliant skin serves to make garments, and 
its hard and brilliantly white bones are employed to 
manufacture different instruments. 

Yégor and Tékel had reached a spot where the very 
abrupt bank towered perpendicularly above the river. 
A hundred mètres from there, they saw through the 
scattered aspens and cedars a little glade invaded by 
blackberry bushes, thyme, red heath and heath with 
black berries called chikcha and bordered with willows. 
Hidden behind some eglantine bushes, the two hunters, 
who had noticed that all the footprints converged to 
this point, waited. Suddenly, Wab gave a start and 
was about to leap, but Yégor’s hand restrained the 
animal in time. An elk of huge proportions came 
out from under the willows, followed by its family 
numbering seven : an old female without horns, two 
full-grown animals with hair already thick, two young 
animals and two fawns. 

Yégor and Tékel heard the snow crack beneath 
their hoofs. The male advanced first; it stopped at 
the edge of the forest, bent down a birch tree with its 
antlers, broke off the top and ate the branches. 

Yégor and the Yakoute, who were not in the direc- 
tion of the wind, took advantage of this moment to 
aim their guns and fire simultaneously. 

A flash lighted up the darkness beneath the branches, 
15 


234 


THE EXILES. 


Wab bounded forward with a howl, and the female at 
which Tékel had aimed fell, uttering a hollow groan. 
The full-grown animals fled, followed by the fawns. 
As to the male which Yégor had wounded in the 
shoulder, it ran a short distance and then suddenly 
stopped to attack those who had attacked it. 

But Wab leaped upon it. 

Feeling the dog’s teeth in its throat, the elk leaped 
among the thickest trees, hoping to make its adversary 
loosen its hold by dashing it against the trunks. 

The brave Wab would certainly have been crushed, 
if Yégor, starting suddenly forward, had not fired a 
second ball into the head of the elk, which fell dead. 

“ The prize is ours ! ” cried Tékel, running up, armed 
with his knife. 

“And a magnificent prize it is, too!” said Yégor, 
measuring the length of the animal with his eye. 

“We will carry away only the best portions,” said 
the Yakoute, preparing to cut off the cartilaginous 
head, which, with the ears and tongue, is the part 
preferred by the people of the north. 

This operation finished, Tékel skinned the animal 
and cut off its hind legs. 

Yégor did the same for the female; and the two 
hunters returned joyously to the encampment, where 
their acquisitions were very highly appreciated. 

M. Lafleur, who had never partaken of an elk’s head 
roasted on the coals, promised himself that he would 
one day regale his friends with the dish, on his return 
to France, 


THE EXILES. 


235 


CHAPTER XXIL 

THE POLAR REGIONS. 

L adislas returned neither that day, nor the next, 
nor the succeeding days. 

Yégor, M. Lafleur and even Nadège, whose hope had 
held out the longest, now felt convinced that the child, 
lost amid the icy solitude, without food and exposed to 
the attacks of bears and wolves, could not have escaped 
death. Yégor’s heart was filled with sadness whenever 
he thought of the little Pole. 

He had nothing, however, with which to reproach 
himself. He had done all that lay in the power of man 
to recover him. To delay further would have been to 
imperil not only his own life but also those of Nadège 
and M. Lafleur, for which he held himself responsible. 

The fugitives encamped several times upon the 
banks of the Kolima, the course of which they were 
following like a conducting thread. 

As they advanced towards the Arctic Ocean, the 
shores of the river, until then rocky and even steep, 
grew lower. The country became more and more 
level, and soon the glance embraced but a toundra 
stretching as far as the eye could reach towijrds the 
sea and traversed by a very great number small 
rivers. 


236 


THE EXILES. 


They kept along an arm of the Kolima, which does 
not unite with the principal course of the river until it 
has formed a low and marshy island, on the southern 
shore of which is situated the ostrog of Nijni-Kolimsk. 
Twenty-five leagues further on, the Kolima divides 
itself anew into two arms. The fugitives followed the 
right arm, which is not less than a league and a half 
wide, and which is called the Kamennaya-Kolima. 
A little further still is found a third arm which, with 
the two others, forms the mouth of the Kolima. This 
mouth of the huge Asiatic stream covers altogether 
a space more than a hundred kilomètres in width. 

On the fourth day, Yëgor saw a young deer that had 
lost its way. It was the season when these animals 
emigrate in herds from the frozen regions of the north 
to more temperate countries. The hair of the deer is 
of a reddish brown, but it is not rare to see white deer 
all the year round. Yëgor, who had restrained Wab, 
always ready to leap forward, admired the graceful 
bearing and light step of the 3^0 ung deer. The deer 
is much more elegant than the stag. It is distinguished 
from the latter by having shorter and slenderer legs, a 
less robust body and a less elongated neck. When it 
is alone and one is in the direction opposite to the 
wind, one can easily approach it, for these animals, 
always frisky and prone to play, are neither tricky nor 
wicked. The young fawns, which people raise on 
goat’s milk, tame Yevy quickly and follow their masters 
with the fidelity and docility of a dog. 


THE EXILES. 


237 


As they were in need of provisions to continue the 
journey, Yégor shot the young deer and carried away 
the best parts of its flesh. 

Some hours later, towards the middle of the day and 
amid terrible cold, the fugitives arrived at the mouth of 
the Kamennaya-Kolima. 

“ The sea ! the sea ! ” cried the two Yakoutes, draw- 
ing themselves up and pointing towards an icy stretch 
which was lost to the north in the mists of the sky. 

“ The Arctic Ocean ! ” said M. Lafleur, shivering 
despite himself as if before something fearful and 
mysterious. 

“ They will not come here to search for us ! ” mur- 
mured Yégor. 

The Arctic landscapes are but little varied. In the 
wan and misty atmosphere there are no shadows; the 
lines of the horizon are effaced and vanish. Ileiglit and 
distance do not exist ; the land and the sea, equally 
white with snow, can scarcely be distinguished one 
from the other ; the innumerable irregularities and 
windings of the coast seem, in these dead and desolate 
regions, not to have had the time to assume decided 
and precise shapes. One might believe himself in the 
midst of a universe still in process of formation. 

The silence and immobility of nature, in the vicinity 
of the pole, have something grand and wild about them. 
Yegor, Nadège and M. Lafleur, all three, were seized 
with a secret terror, as if upon the threshold of an 
unknown world. 

Yermac alone, inaccessible to every emotion, re- 


238 


THE EXILES. 


mained impassible and rigid. He comprehended that, 
with the cold and the continuous night which would 
shortly begin, the surveillance of which he was the 
object would necessarily be relaxed. Could he escape 
then? Should he strive to flee, or should he wait 
until some unforeseen event changed the face of 
things ? 

Around the fugitives everything displayed the lugu- 
brious imprint of polar lethargy. Not a sound, not a 
cry, not a breath. It was like an empty and depopu- 
lated planet destroyed by some horrible cataclysm. 
Afar, above mountains of ice — cylindrical masses — 
jutting out like promontories, white birds vague as 
shadows floated slowly, suggesting the wandering souls 
of those who are no more. The light was funereal and 
so feeble that objects had neither body nor color. 

At last, the fugitives had reached the spot where 
they designed to conceal themselves during the winter. 
They would erect a stout hut, well sheltered from the 
winds of the north. It was only on the arrival of 
spring that they could risk traversing the country of 
the Tchouktchis, on their way to the Gulf of Anadyr. 

On their hazardous journey sown with perils of 
every kind, they had lost all idea of time. 

“ I would like to know what part of the year it is,” 
said M. Lafleur; “but we have kept no account of 
the days.” 

“ Tiiis is the 20th of November,” said the chief of 
police, in a tone of certainty. 

“Indeed?” said Yégor. “That is the reason the 


THE EXILES. 


239 


days are so short. Day after to-morrow will commence 
a night of thirty-six days.” 

“ A complete night ? ” asked Nadège, turning pale. 

“ Complete. The sun will reappear only on the 
28th of December. I am fully informed on that point.” 

“But how shall we manage to live in the dark- 
ness?” demanded Nadège. 

“ The night will not be as dark as you imagine, 
Mademoiselle,” said M. Lafleur. “ Thanks to the 
power of the refraction and the gleaming whiteness of 
the snow, as well as the frequency of the aurora 
borealis, the gloom will be supportable. We shall 
also have the moon, which will make us ten visits 
every twenty-four hours. What we have to fear are 
the excessive cold and lack of provisions. We are now 
but six, since the poor little lad has not rejoined us.” 

“ Don’t count me ! ” said the chief of police, dryly. 

“Why not?” 

“Now that my arm is cured, I shall make it a point 
not to accept for a single day longer anything whatever 
from you. Alone, I shall find a way to procure my 
food. I do not wish to embarrass you.” 

“As you please,” said Yegor. “ Monsieur Yermac,” 
added he, “you shall have your liberty when we 
abandon this spot early in the spring. That is if you do 
not prefer to accompany us to the Gulf of Anadyr, 
where we shall quit simultaneously Siberia, Russia and 
Asia I” 

“That remains to be seen!” muttered Yermac, in a 
low tone. 


240 


THE EXILES 


CHAPTER XXIIL 


PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTER. 

HE fugitives and the chief of police paused at 



I the edge of a small frozen river, the water of 
which could be drunk. On the banks of this stream 
they could gather drifted wood to burn during the 
winter. It was in the vicinity of Cape BaranofF, which 
bristled with rocks of strange and fantastic shapes: 
one fancied he saw there figures of men and gigantic 
animals scattered among ruined towers and dismantled 
and crumbling walls, which one might take for the 
wrecks of a fortress. 

The north and north-west portions of the cape are 
composed of rocks of schist, plunging perpendicularly 
into the sea and cut here and there by narrow valleys. 

To the north, bounding the horizon, were vaguely 
outlined huge mountains of ice, called icebergs by 
English and American navigators. A little in front of 
them stretched out a vast open space in the ice. 

Upon the Siberian shores of the Arctic Ocean, one 
does not see immense glaciers like those of Smith’s 
Strait. Nevertheless, as the current of the Polar 
Sea flows from west to east, it will readily be under- 
stood that enormous masses of ice are drawn towards 
Behring’s Strait. From various causes, the height of 


THE EXILES. 241 

the frozen mountains augments as one leaves the coast 
behind him. 

At this spot on the shore of the Arctic Ocean the 
people from the banks of the Kolima stop, when they 
start out to hunt the fur producing animals. 

There exists, between the limit they assign to them- 
selves and that adopted by the Tchouktchis, a neutral 
and uninhabited zone very favorable for the establish- 
ment of a winter camp for fugitives. 

The coast was covered with drifted wood, which 
could be utilized in the construction of a hut for 
the winter, which gave promise of being excessively 
severe. 

Everybody assisted in erecting the hut — even Yer- 
mac. The interior was so arranged as to furnish, 
besides the room common to all, a chamber for Nadège, 
in which her pologue was erected. The men were to 
sleep together, in another apartment, on a sort of bed 
made of pieces of wood. A reindeer skin was hung 
over the door of the hut. Outside, a covered passage, 
constructed with blocks of snow, formed a screen, pre- 
venting the icy air from penetrating into the hut when 
any one entered or went out. The hut, which was 
very low, was strengthened b}'- means of an exterior 
wall of hardened snow, a precaution taken against 
hurricanes which, otherwise, would have swept it 
away. The roof, exceedingly slight despite the care 
bestowed upon it by the exiles, had been in like man- 
ner covered with solid cakes of snow. Finally, in 


242 


THE EXILES, 


front of the passage, a veritable glacis formed of enor- 
mous blocks was designed to act as an obstacle to the 
tempests and to prevent the hut from being suddenly 
invaded and shut in b}^ the snow. 

Afterwards, they took an inventory of what they 
possessed. Their property, besides a large quantity 
of skins and furs variously fashioned, consisted of the 
following objects : an iron plate with four feet for the 
hearth, an iron tripod, a boiler and a kettle, some 
spoons, knives and forks, a lantern, a saw, two hatch- 
ets, two hunting-knives, pistols and guns with a hun- 
dred cartridges for each gun, a thermometer and the 
tiny compass belonging to the charms of Yegor’s watch- 
chain — the watch was to play the important rôle of 
chronometer. 

Unfortunately, the supply of food, as the reader 
already knows, was not large. 

From the first day, the chief of police refused the 
food that was offered to him. A kettle had been 
placed upon the fire in order to make soup from rein- 
deer meat. The meat set aside, each one, except 
Yermac, dipped a spoon into the kettle. Yermac drew 
from his sack some rye biscuits he had furnished him- 
self with at the ostrog : these, with a morsel of you- 
koula of mouksoune (a sort of soa gudgeon dried), 
constituted his supper. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur looked at each other, painfully 
impressed by the chief of police’s determination. 

“And when you have eaten your biscuits, what 
then?” asked the Parisian. 


THE EXILES. 243 

“To-morrow, I shall begin hunting,” responded 
Yermac. 

“ To hunt one must have a gun ! ” 

“ And you have mine ! No matter! I will set traps. 
You will trust me with a hatchet to prepare my traps, 
will you not?” 

“ Certainly,” said Yégor, who admired the character 
of the chief of police. 

“ But you will be compelled to have bait,” observed 
the Parisian. 

“Eight; I did not think of that,” answered Yermac, 
and ceasing to eat, he put aside his morsel of youkoula. 

He refused the tea prepared with melted snow, and, 
after his more than primitive repast eaten amid biting 
cold, stretched himself out dressed as he was upon the 
planks of the camp bed, having previously changed 
his stockings, a precaution without which one would 
expose himself to the risk of freezing his feet. 

The next day, he set ten traps, formed of roughly 
constructed boxes embedded in the snow. In each box 
he placed the bait. Above, a heavy flat piece of wood, 
held in position by a spring, was designed to fall upon 
the animal — which, in touching the bait, would free 
the spring — and retain it until the arrival of Yermac. 

Twenty-four hours afterwards, the chief of police, 
his hatchet in his hand, visited his traps, one by one, 
but found nothing in them. Eeturning towards the 
hut, with the prospect of a fast before him, he saw 
some makarcha plants and with difficulty pulled them 
to eat the roots. 


244 


THE EXILES. 


They formed his breakfast, dinner and supper that 
day. 

Yégor begged Nadège, who was affected by Yermac’s 
stoical resolution, not to pay too much attention to 
him : that was, perhaps, the only way to induce him to 
act otherwise. 

Very early in the morning everybody was astir. 
They rekindled the fire which, little by little, had gone 
out; then they washed their faces and hands with 
snow recently fallen and yet soft. This operation 
finished, the kettle was placed on the fire and tea 
made. Afterwards, it was necessary to see what could 
be done about dinner and, ultimately, the evening meal 
with the very limited means as to provisions and uten- 
sils at their disposal. Yermac always did by himself 
what he called his cooking. 

The cold grew bitter, and the hut was far from being 
comfortable when the north-west wind, blowing with 
violence, drove back the smoke into the interior. 

The Yakoutes’ pipes had frozen. Iron burned on 
touching it when one forgot to envelop his hand in a 
glove or piece of skin. The excessive cold, which at 
first acted as a stimulant to the will, speedily produced 
debility. M. Lafleur was the initial sufferer. A "sort 
of intoxication took possession of him, his jaws trem- 
bled and his movements became uncertain. Sometimes, 
in the night, he felt the cold so much that, despite his 
pelisse and the fire burning in the centre of the hut, he 
arose repeatedly, went out-of-doors, and ran around the 
cabin to give some pliancy to his benumbed limbs. 


THE EXILES. 


245 


The night of thirty-six days had commenced on the 
22nd of November. Yermac thought seriously of 
taking advantage of the darkness to escape ; but he 
could only attempt to gain Nijni-Kolimsk with the aid 
of one of the guides. 

Tékel seemed to him to be too thoroughly devoted 
to his masters to be influenced, but Chort offered more 
encouragement. The chief of police frightened him by 
telling him what kind of people he was serving and to 
what he was exposing himself, should they be arrested 
in their attempt to escape. Finally, he proposed that 
he should flee with him in the narta, the dogs of which 
were accustomed to obey him, promising him a hand- 
some recompense as soon as they reached the settle- 
ments of the Kolima. 

The Yakoute asked time for reflection. He was, 
doubtless, on the point of yielding to the pressing 
applications of the chief of police, when Yégor, without 
suspecting Yermac’s plans, totally overthrew them. 

Yégor had quickly comprehended that they could 
not feed thirty-four dogs until the close of the winter. 
Many things, also, were wanted to assure the success 
of his bold project. He decided, in accord with M. La- 
fleur, to send the two Yakoutes in their nartas to 
Elope-Balo or some of the villages on the banks of 
the Omolon — Nijni-Kolimsk would be too dangerous — 
there to purchase reindeer skins in sufficient quantity 
to make an ourouse, or travelling tent, to be used on 
the resumption of the journey, pieces of birch wood 


246 


THE EXILES. 


and skins for the construction of a baydare, a very 
light, flat boat made of wood and leather, for crossing 
streams, and whale ribs to strengthen the runners of 
the sledges when the ice was rough and also in those 
places where the snow was impregnated with salt. 
Finally, the guides were to collect a considerable 
supply of frozen reindeer ribs and dried fish for the 
dogs. Yégor gave Tékel some gold pieces and rouble 
notes, which are perfectly current with the natives, 
although their money, for the most part, is either 
tobacco or brandy. 

The two Yakoutes were to depart in forty-eight 
hours, and Yermac had but a very faint hope of 
deciding Chort to disappear before the moment when 
he was to follow his comrade Tékel. 


THE EXILES. 


247 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

LADISLAS’ RETURN AND -DIMITRl’s DEATH. 

HE next night, the dogs barked so loudly the 



JL Yakoutes persuaded the fugitives that Tchouk- 
tchis must be in the vicinity. Yégor and M. Lafleur 
watched with loaded weapons within reach. At last, 
Ydgor grew impatient and went into the open air. 

Afar off he heard a strange noise. What could this 
noise mean ? 

Suddenly, a vague, white light spread over the sky, 
like a milky way which had overflowed its limits. 
Surrounding objects took shape and became visible, as 
if in splendid moonlight. The ice-fields sparkled in 
the distance like fused silver. 

Soon, however, a blaze of fire broke forth at the 
horizon, constantly increasing and shooting out sheaves 
of flame, fuses and long fiery swords which seemed to 
pierce the sky and make it run with blood. Drops of 
red light fell like drops of gore; and as nothing is 
more shifting, more changeable, than the phenomenon 
of the aurora borealis, green tints speedily succeeded 
the red hues. One might have thought that an immense 
Bengal light was illuminating the horizon. Then it 
was like a rainbow which had formed itself in the 
middle of the night, a rainbow resembling ^ marvel- 


248 


THE EXILES. 


lous mosaic of jewels, diamonds, rubies, amethysts, 
sapphires and topaz stones. 

By the brightness of these shifting and capricious 
displays of light which filled the sky, Yégor perceived 
a sledge drawn by several pairs of reindeer which 
was making its w^ay over the sea, quite level at that 
point, in the direction of the hut, keeping at a 
distance of about a hundred mètres from the coast. 
He immediately thought that they were pursued, and 
called the Parisian to impart to him his fears. The 
latter, after having put on his forehead, nose and ears 
all the pieces of fur he could gather, finally quitted 
the hut. 

He thought, on seeing the flaming sky, that his 
friend had summoned him without to enjoy this specta- 
cle yet new to both of them, and uttered an excla- 
mation. 

“Hush! ’’said Yégor, “and glance at those people 
who are advancing towards us in a narta.” 

The howling of the dogs had, at first, prevented 
M. Lafleur from hearing the scraping of the narta’s 
runners upon the frozen sea. He looked a moment in 
the direction indicated by Yégor. 

“ In any case,” said he, “ they are not numerous — 
two or three at most. If they have business with us, 
they may find people who can hold their own with 
them. But listen ! ” 

The narta was near enough for them to hear words 
exchanged between its occupants. Upon frozen sur- 
faces sounds may be distinctly heard a great distance. 


249 


THE EXILES. 

“ I know that voice I ” cried M. Lafleur. 

“And I also ! said Yégor, growing pale. 

“May I never again see the Place de la Bastille if it 
is not the voice of Ladislas ! ” 

“You speak truly, Monsieur Lafleur! Look! the 
narta is shaping its course by the bark of our dogs.” 

Two minutes afterwards, the little Pole was in the 
arms of Yegor and M. Lafleur. All three wept with 
joy at meeting again. The narta remained with its 
driver upon the surface of the frozen sea. 

“ With whom are you, my dear child ? ” asked Yégor, 
at last. 

“ With the son of the chief of police of Yakoutsk, 
who has brought me back to you all ! ” 

“ The son of the chief of police ? ” cried M. Lafleur, 
in whose ears this title had a disagreeable sound. 

“ He is ver}^ ill — wounded. Thanks to the money 
he possessed, he was able to induce à rich Tunguse 
having very handsome reindeer to bring us hither.” 

“ Yégor, I am going to him,” said M. Lafleur, “while 
you conduct Ladislas to his sister. But, be careful! 
Prepare her a little for the joy which awaits her.” 

M. Lafleur cautiously descended towards the narta. 
The sky had much paled. When he was near the 
travellers : 

“ Come on,” said he ; “ we are your friends.” 

“ And my father ? ” asked Dimitri, in a feeble voice. 

“ He is over there, with us. More than once he has 
spoken of you, and your fate torments him.” 

16 


250 


THE EXILES. 


“ Then I shall see him — before I die Î ” murmured the 
wounded man. 

“Before you die? Ah! I see: you are ill, my 
friend, very ill; but we will care for you. Come 
quickly and warm yourself at our fire, and tell your 
driver to do the same.” 

The Tunguse, thus invited, lifted Dimitri and, with 
the aid of the Parisian, Yermac’s son succeeded in 
clearing the distance which separated the sledge from 
the hut. His father ran to meet him. 

“Father,” said the young man on perceiving him, 
“give me credit for a good action. I have brought 
you back the child.” 

Yermac clasped Dimitri to his breast ; but he could 
not avoid making the following observation to him ; 

“ For your first good action, you have not exactly 
had a happy hand.” 

“ How is that ? ” 

“ This child is the son of exiles — he is in company 
with others who are escaping.” 

“ I did not know it,” murmured Dimitri. 

The merit of the action is yours, all the same,” 
said Yermac. “The moment I return this child to 
them, I shall feel myself completely free from every 
obligation in regard to them. And I shall owe this 
very great satisfaction to you.” 

Dimitri could not and did not understand. 

His father saw how weak he was and asked him the 
reason. 

Dimitri answered: 


THE EXILES. 


251 


“ It happened when I wished to quit my companions. 
I was already far from them, bringing the child, in the 
night, when they fired upon us. They comprehended 
that I had abandoned them. I was hit by a ball below 
the left shoulder. I could not stop to care for myself 
— and that is the reason I am in this sad state.’’ 

“ Unfortunate man I You exposed yourself to an 
aggravation of your condition ! ” cried Yermac. 

“ Then you no longer wish to see me die, father ! ” 
said the young man, with a sad smile. “At least, I 
have seen you again before drawing my final breath,” 
added he, “ and you will, perhaps, pardon me for all 
the pain I have caused you.” 

“Ah! Dimitri!” cried Yermac, greatly moved, “do 
not talk thus. At this moment, many things are for- 
gotten. But how were you able to get here — to push 
your search so far ? ” 

“ The courage of the child did everything. As for 
me, I felt that I was dying and did not wish to lose an 
hour, in order to redeem myself in your eyes, to turn 
from me your malediction.” 

What an affecting scene was this reconciliation of 
father and son in this vast frame, lighted up by the 
last phase of the aurora borealis, in which now the 
glare of a huge conflagration was mingled with the 
soft shades of early dawn ! 

That night was finished in the hut amid the chat of 
Ladislas and the happy Nadège and the confidential 
talk of Dimitri and his father. The Yakoutes feted 
the Tunguse. 


252 


THE EXILES, 


At lengtli, Yermac said to Yégor : 

“ Thanks to my son, I am able to restore you this 
child whom we all believed lost, and who, certainly, 
would have died of want without Dimitri. Do you 
not think, Séménoff, that this is something?” 

“You were our debtor, Yermac; I am now yours,” 
answered Yégor. “ But do not all these circumstances 
cause you to reflect? Will you not, at last, depart 
from that cruel attitude towards us which has made 
us enemies ? ” 

“As to that, it is impossible ! ” 

“We esteem and hate each other I ” 

“I have no hatred.” 

“ But I should much prefer hatred, the blind instru- 
ment of barbarous legislation, to that inflexibility of 
character which nothing can touch, nothing can con- 
vince and nothing can move. Your hatred, if not 
already extinguished, would surely be extinguished at 
this hour when we contract such great obligations 
towards you. But you can neither hate nor love.” 

“ I obey more elevated dictates.” 

“Here, take your weapons again, Yermac,” said 
Yégor. “Whatever you may say, I now no longer 
fear anything from you. Take back your gun, or, 
rather, leave me yours and take mine. I owe you 
that,” added he, casting a compassionate look on poor 
Dimitri, wdiose soul seemed about to take its flight. 

From that moment, M. Lafleur was forced to trans- 
form himself altogether into a nurse. It was not easy 
to care for Yermac’s son. The ball had penetrated 


THE EXILES. 253 

deeph% and the Parisian possessed none of the resources* 
of a surgeon. 

Hence the state of the unhappy young man grew 
worse with extreme rapidity. There was no hope 
for him. 

A few days later — at the nocturnal hour when 
Dimitri had arrived at the camp of the fugitives — 
three men, the two Yakoutes and the Tunguse, lighted 
a fire upon the shore of the sea to dig a grave. When 
the fire had sunk in the snow to the level of the soil, 
tlie three men dug up the earth with a spear of hard 
wood. After an hour of this toil, which by developing 
their heat caused to hover above them a vapor whitened 
by the moon in its fugitive apparitions, the three men 
returned to the hut to announce that the grave was 
ready. 

An instant afterwards, they reappeared without, 
bearing a stiffened body wrapped in a sheet of cloth. 
Ladislas preceded them. He held in his hand a lan- 
tern to illuminate the dark points of the road. Yermac 
came behind them, followed by Yégor and M. Lafleur. 

Around the hut, the dogs were howling in a lamenta- 
ble fashion. It was the knell of the dead. 

This group of men advanced over the rough surface 
of the soil, through a lugubrious obscurity and beneath 
a sky veiled by rapidly moving clouds. It was terribly 
cold, the thermometer indicating thirty-two degrees 
below zero. 

They reached the grave. There, without the least 
rite, the frozen body was laid in the frozen ground and 


254 


THE EXILES. 


covered with snow for a monument. The poor father 
saw all this done with tearful eyes. 

The two Yakoutes had prepared a wooden cross. 
They erected it and it stood out black from the 
surrounding whiteness. 

And when the spectators raised their eyes to the 
sky, they saw to their great surprise that the full moon 
was shining in the centre of an immense cross-shaped 
glory, reproducing itself six times in the heavens with 
a sinister effect. 

The polar night stretched out its tremendous veil 
through which the stars pierced with extraordinary 
brilliancy ; through the cold air, a great light fell upon 
the black hills, the snowy peaks and the glassy sea. 
The vast silence, broken only by the howling of the 
dogs, filled the mind with an indescribable feeling of 
uneasiness and fear, as if it were under the empire of 
a nightmare which nothing could drive away. 

The same thought then assailed these three men, so 
far from their natal countries. Yermac, Yegor and 
good M. Lafleur were transported in imagination to 
the lands of the sun. Who knew if they would ever 
see them again, and if a cold grave would not open 
for them also in this region of the pole? 

Yégor and M. Lafleur grasped the hand of Dimitri’s 
father to console him, and then grasped each other’s to 
strengthen themselves in their resolutions. 

“Shall we, Yermac,” said Yégor, “before this tomb 
promise mutual assistance and succor ? ” 


THE EXILES. 


255 


“No, Yégor,” answered the chief of police; “you 
brought me into this region. I followed you without 
too much resistance, because your courage made an 
impression upon me. But ask nothing further of me.” 

The Yakoutes started on their journey the next 
evening in a south-east wind, vulgarly called the warm 
wind, which had blown all day, causing the thermom- 
eter to rise above zero, softening the snow, and melting 
the ice incrusted in the two little windows of the hut. 
The moon lighted up their road, and if the dogs held 
out at the rate they commenced, they would make 
twelve kilomètres an hour. 

On seeing them depart with the two nartas, Yermac, 
already much discouraged by the death of his son, lost 
all hope of fleeing. More taciturn than usual, he 
refused all consolation, all assistance. Nadège had 
tried without success to induce him to accept food 
at Ladislas’ hands. 

When the guides had gone, he seated himself near 
the spot where Dimitri had been buried. In the pale 
light which fell from above, the wooden cross seemed 
to be the centre of a vast cemetery. 

In the distance, upon the sea, in the direction of the 
icebergs, the ice, broken up by the action of the sud- 
den heat and the dash of the free waters set in motion 
by the wind, gave vent to resounding and continued 
crackings, which mingled with the noise of the waves 
dashed against the promontories by the gale. The 
Polar Sea had, for a few hours, shaken off the yoke 
of winter. 


256 


THB EXILES 


CHAPTER XXV. 

YERMAC’S EXPERIENCES. 

RMAC was hungry. For several days his means 



i of sustenance had been limited to two lemmings 
(a species of small rat) caught in the traps he had 
set on the marshy plain which bordered upon the shore 
of the sea. The foxes and gluttons obstinately kept 
away from the traps. 

He had also discovered several hiding-places in which 
foxes had collected numerous lemmings slain by them, 
as one might judge from the fact that their skulls had 
been pierced by the canine teeth of those animals. In 
one of these hiding-places, Yermac found half of a 
white hare. But the flesh of all these creatures, spoiled 
by its long stay in the earth, could only be used by him 
as bait for his traps. 

He was hungry, but would accept nothing from his 
companions. He did not regret, despite the tortures of 
his stomach, having voluntarily stepped aside from the 
common life. Nevertheless, he comprehended that, if 
he did not take some energetic resolution, he would 
run the risk of perishing from inanition. 

The fall of the temperature augmented the sharpness 
of his wants. His limbs grew numb and his sight 
.became extremely faint. His skin gi*ew dry, discolored 


THE EXILES. 


267 


and earthy ; it seemed glued to his bones, so prompt 
had been the emaciation of the muscles. His pulse was 
scarcely perceptible ; his body lost all warmth and it 
seemed to him that his very breath was frozen. He 
dragged himself along like a man who is slowly re- 
covering from a severe illness. 

His sleep became light, and, when he strove to 
summon slumber as a restoring agent, the lethargy 
which took possession of him frightened him — he saw 
in it a precursor of death. He felt himself subjected to 
the most terrible trial he had yet undergone in a life 
full of painful incidents. And yet he was not afraid of 
weakening in his resolution, of being forced to ask 
favors or of placing himself anew at the mercy of the 
fugitives ; what he feared was that death might compel 
him to abandon the pursuit of them, that he might not 
be able to return from one of his nocturnal walks, in 
the midst of which moral discouragement and physical 
weakness seized upon and overthrew him. 

These walks, in company with hunger, across the 
ice or through the snow, amid intense cold and beneath 
the pale light of the moon which gave fantastic figures 
and enormous proportions to distant heaps of ice 
blocks, were rapidly wearing him out. Sometimes the 
moon hid itself; a thick fog came from the sea, and the 
snow fell beaten by violent gales. 

Armed with a stick, he looked about him with eyes 
enlarged by fever and the hallucination of a disordered 
brain ; his teeth chattered, and his tongue, with uncon- 


258 


THE EXILES. 


scions movements, worked in his mouth as if it were 
gathering up food chewed and prepared for swallowing. 
With empty stomach, he sought a prey, forgetting that 
he himself, feeble as he was, might fall into the clutches 
of some polar bear in search of a feast. He sought 
and found nothing with which to satisfy his hunger, 
now become a sort of madness. If there had been 
grass, he would have swallowed it like a pasturing 
beast. Oh ! that the recently fallen snow had in some- 
thing resembled the manna of the Israelites! — but it 
was not even capable of quenching his terrible thirst I 

Wide awake, he had epicurean dreams. He, who all 
his life had been frugal, saw blocks of ice suddenly 
cover themselves with a white cloth, upon which were 
spread out in abundance, beneath the chandeliers of 
orgies, savory victuals and succulent preparations 
brought from every portion of the globe ; and thus 
he renewed, without the power to shake it off, the pun- 
ishment of Tantalus. At other times, his wandering 
imagination led him to banquets of cannibals, devour- 
ing human flesh ! 

And when, broken but indomitable, without regret 
for having exposed himself to death from inanition, he 
threw a sad look over the desolate solitudes, hunger, 
terrible personification, identifying itself with himself, 
seemed to him to be their sole guest. 

Yégor had restored him his gun, but he knew not 
what had become of his munitions during the rapidly 
made sledge journey. Would it be too humiliating to 


THE EXILES. 


259 


ask his companions to furnish him with a new supply ? 
He resolved to do so. He had no other resource. 
Without munitions, all was over with him and he 
knew it. 

He wished to live ; he wished, when the nartas 
should return to the camp, to resume with the Yakoute 
Chort those stimulations and seductions which had 
nearly succeeded. If he could flee, altogether relieved 
of obligations as he now felt himself in regard to Yégor 
Séménoff and his companions, the game would become 
equal. The winter had scarcely commenced. Nijni- 
Kolimsk, that is to say the power of the law, was not 
so very far away ! What matter how he suffered if, in 
the end, he succeeded in his attempt, repulsive, even 
perilous, but for that reason worthy of furnishing an 
example to all those who allow themselves to capitu- 
late with their consciences. 

The next day — he was forced to hasten, for the moon 
would soon abandon the nights to their obscurity, like 
that of the days — Yégor and M. Lafleur saw him start 
out, scarcely able to drag himself along but ready to 
venture afar. Singular hunter, leaning upon the but 
of his gun as he walked, staggering over the snow, and 
so thin in his furs, so bent, that he seemed to be posing 
for some funereal allegory ! 

He walked to the east, in the direction of Cape 
Chélagsk, across abrupt earthy hills and frozen bogs. 
He was fortunate enough to meet two deer, belonging 
to that peculiar species which inhabits the shores of the 


26 » 


THE EXILES. 


Arctic Ocean, and does not retire into the forests in 
winter. He fired at one of them and killed it. 

All his confidence returned to him. The only diffi- 
culty was to convey the animal to the encampment. 
Full of ardor and proud of himself, he seized the deer 
by the antlers and found strength to drag it as far as 
the hut. At last, he had food enough for many days. 

The chief of police rapidly recovered. He resumed 
his position of unfriendly observer, living as little as 
possible among the fugitives. Despite the cold, he 
remained without, returning to go to bed when every- 
body was asleep and, in the morning, stealing away the 
first from the hut. 

On one occasion, Yégor assured himself that he had 
not returned the night before, and became very anxious 
about him : some misfortune must have happened to 
his tormentor. At an earl}^ hour he set out to hunt for 
him, taking the direction of the sea, while M. Lafleur 
went to look in the vicinity of Yermac’s traps. 

Yégor advanced, slowly and cautiously, through 
darkness somewhat dissipated by the brilliancy of the 
stars. He listened. A sepulchral silence reigned, 
broken only by the groaning of the wind. 

Suddenly, on passing around an enormous block of 
ice, he perceived Yermac sunk to the belt in a hole in 
the midst of newly formed ice. 

The chief of police was keeping himself above the 
ice with his elbows, but could not extricate himself 
without help. He was waiting with a calm and 
resigned air — for what? 


THE EXILES. 


261 


“ What are you doing there ! ” cried Yégor. 

“I am looking for deliverance or death!” answered 
Yermac. “ I have fallen into a fissure of the ice.” 

“ Take hold of this and I will pull you out,” said 
Yegor, and he extended the but of his gun towards 
Yermac. 

It was with great difficulty that he extricated the 
chief of police, whose body was incrusted in the ice as 
in a sheath. 

“Again I owe my life to 3mu I ” murmured Yermac ; 
“everything conspires against me! ” 

“ Why should contracting such a debt cost ^mu so 
much ? ” observed Yégor. 

Yermac was silent. 

Without a word they returned to the hut. M. 
Lafleur entered an instant afterwards. 

“This is, indeed, a day of accidents!” cried Yégor, 
on perceiving the latter : “ My good Monsieur Lafleur, 
your nose is frozen ! ” 

On hearing these words, Ladislas ran out-of-doors to 
procure some snow and, a minute later, M. Lafleur, 
paler than his nose, began to rub it to restore to it heat 
and life. He warmed up at this work, got out of 
breath, dropped upon a rude stool and said, as he 
did so : 

“ It seems to me that this polar winter is miserably 
long!” 

“My dear Parisian,” answered Yégor, “the winter 
is only commencing; but be patient — on the 28th of 


262 


THE EXILES. 


December the sun will reappear at the horizon. The 
cold, however, will not diminish — far from it! As for 
me, I shall be satisfied as long as your friendship for 
us remains warm ! ” 

“ My friendship ! — you may depend upon that, my 
dear Yégor. Pardon my little display of impatience — 
for one does not see his nose frozen without some very 
natural emotion ! ” 


THE EXILES. 


26S 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

PRIVATIONS IN THE POLAR NIGHT. 



HEN Yermac had eaten enough of his deer — he 


T T had offered some of the choicest pieces to Yégor 
and his companions, but had received a refusal similar 
to that he had made them — he utilized the remainder 
for his traps. Thanks to this bait of alluring odor, he 
succeeded in capturing three fine gluttons, the flesh of 
which he carried away. The precious fur of these 
animals was carefully put aside: Yermac, with his pro- 
ject of flight, wished to create for himself resources for 
his journey; besides, thn fur of the glutton commands 
a very high price among the natives of the north of 
Siberia. 

The Yakoutes did not return quickly with their 
nartas loaded with food, and the fugitives began to 
lack provisions. In their turn, they felt the rough 
attacks of hunger. Then, touching combats of gener- 
osity arose among them. M. Lafleur pretended that 
the cold produced in him an effect contrary to that 
which it usually produces and appeased his hunger. 
He insisted that Nadège and Yégor should take the 
largest shares. Ladislas devised means to make his 
adopted sister believe he had eaten too much and, with 
genuine self denial, obliged her to eat the food of which 
he deprived himself. 


264 


THE EXILES. 


Yermac, much surprised to see the fugitives so soon 
reduced to the extremities from which he had just been 
relieved, studied with curiosity the suffering expression 
of their countenances. The more they weakened — 
while he was regaining strength and courage — the 
more things became equal between him and them. His 
satisfaction would have been perfect, if he had not 
shared the fears of his companions in regard to the 
two guides. 

The fugitives sought to explain the delay of the 
Yakoutes, and economized their food. Yermac was 
disturbed by the prolonged absence of Chort. He 
regretted having said too much to Tékel’s comrade 
concerning the people he served. 

Perhaps, afraid of compromising themselves, the 
guides would not return. In that case, Yermac 
regarded his fliglit as impossible. But would not the 
continuation of the fugitives’ journey also be rendered 
impossible? What could they do without their sledges, 
without their dogs and without provisions upon the 
deserted shores of the Arctic Ocean ? They would be 
forced to avow themselves vanquished, incapable of 
pushing their attempt to the end, and would be but too 
happy to be able to return to Yakoutsk under the 
protection of the chief of police. 

The fugitives were soon reduced to disputing their 
rations with Wab and the two Siberian dogs which 
Yégor had kept. These animals, deprived of nourish- 
ment, uttered lugubrious complaints. The Siberian 


THE EXILES. 


265 


dogs are accustomed to howl four times a day, but 
Yégor's dogs now howled all day and all night. 

The situation of the exiles grew painful in the 
extreme ; and, added to this, the biting cold occasioned 
them all sorts of suffering. 

One morning, little Ladislas complained that his feet 
were excessively cold. M. Lafleiir took off his shoes 
and uttered a cry on seeing that the child’s stockings, 
frozen to his feet, adhered to them. It was necessary 
to use caution in disembarrassing him of the icy cover- 
ings. Happily, the feet, although stiff, were yet 
unharmed. M. Lafleur re-established the circulation 
of the blood by rubbing them vigorously with brandy. 

The difficulties of life were also augmented by reason 
of the cold. They were forced to cut the meat with 
hatchets. If they touched an iron utensil, without 
taking the precaution to cover the hand, the contact of 
the iron with the skin produced the effect of a burn. 
If Yegor, on consulting his little compass, neglected 
to hold his breath, the glass immediately vanished 
beneath a coating of ice. Out-of-doors, their eyelids 
were covered with an icy crust. Yégor’s watch would 
no longer go, although he took great care to carry it 
always 'upon hnn and to put it at night under his 
coverings. 

Although the fugitives were clad in flannel under- 
shirts, drawers and stockings of wool, flannel shirts, 
knit jackets, coats of heavy felt-cloth and seal skin 
pantaloons — indispensable objects that Yégor had had 
17 


266 


THÈ EXILÉS. 


the foresight to purchase at the bazar of Yakoutsk — and 
although they slept with their clothes on and covered 
with furs, frequently the cold, hunger’s auxiliary, pre- 
vented them from sleeping. 

When M. Lafleur exposed himself to the air, he put 
on a cloth cloak, with a veil attached, and covered his 
head with a woollen cloth resembling a huge dishevelled 
wig. But his laughable attire had not the power to 
bring even a smile to the faces of his friends. 

The unfortunates were overcome with sorrow. They 
had escaped from the captivity of men only to fall into 
that of the elements. 

Yet this exile, this imprisonment in the midst of ice 
and gloom, seemed to have attractions when compared 
to what Yégor had suffered in the mines of Nertchinsk 
and Nadège in her life of banishment. Here, hope 
sustained them. As soon as the sun returned from its 
long journey, they could continue their own. They 
compared themselves to those heroes of fairy tales, 
who await their deliverance in a forest or a chateau 
where some magic power has confined them. The 
chances of safety increased daily. Oh ! that hunger 
had not so imperiously demanded its rights and made 
them feel its tyranny ! 

Happily, they had passed through the greater por- 
tion of that long night which lasts more than a month. 
At noon, it seemed to them like midnight. In the 
south, vacillated a little twilight glimmer of a pale 
yellow. The sun had descended so many degrees that 


THE' EXILES. 


267 


it could be seen only from the top of a mountain more 
than ten leagues high. When the moon did not appear 
in the sky and when the aurora borealis was absent, in 
the sombre vault of the firmament there were produced 
only from time to time luminous rays traced by the 
silver track of a shooting star — a rapid flash in the 
midst of the deep night, a spark that fell and was 
extinguished in space. 

But to break the frightful silence of the polar night, 
which affected the mind still more than the disappear- 
ance of the light, there was only the noise produced 
by the ice blocks as they broke one against another in 
the incompletely solidified places, a noise capable of 
making a strange impression when heard during this 
long and cold night. Now it was hollow and con- 
tinuous like the distant surf of the sea, now sharp and 
piercing like the noise of the ungreased wheels of a 
cart, and now resounding and jerky like the discharges 
of cannon. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur had begun to hunt, but without 
success. The shores of the Arctic Ocean seemed 
depopulated forever. The odor of the dogs and their 
howling had driven away the white bears. Never- 
theless, they had the luck to kill two seals, the fat of 
which they ate, washing it down with tea. M. Lafleur 
thought it tasted like rancid butter, but grew accus- 
tomed to it. 

Finally, Ydgor and M; Lafleur decided to hunt for 
white bears upon the frozen sea. The day, which for 


268 


THE EXILES. 


a week had been gradually returning, rendered this 
project feasible. 

The next day, when a yellowish reflection, appearing 
in the south, announced the rising of the sun, Yégor 
and his friend descended well-armed upon the ice, 
taking with them the two Siberian dogs. Soon, a first 
jet of light broke forth, and then the sun itself emerged, 
the color of blood, with its disk gnawed by the mist. 
The snowy lines of the coast hills and of the huge 
blocks of ice took a mild tinge, a light pink, and the 
blue shadows became violet. 

After an hour’s walk amid the accumulations of 
ice blocks, broken, crushed and studded with points, 
which the English explorers of the North Pole have 
called hummocks, and which have the appearance of a 
field upturned by a gigantic plough, the hunters reached 
a labyrinth of icebergs. There, they saw in the snow 
numerous tracks of white bears and polar foxes (these 
foxes are parasites of the bears, from which they suc- 
ceed, thanks to their agility and nimbleness, in snatch- 
ing a portion of their prey). A moment afterwards, 
they discovered a den, the inhabitants of which were 
absent. These caverns, two mètres deep, have two 
openings : a couple of bears have scarcely sufficient 
room to lie down in one of them. 

A little further on, they saw two bears in ambush. 
Near one of those round crevices from whence seals 
issue for air and light — and where they come for the 
sun’s warmth — the bears had collected a pile of snow 


THE EXILES. 


269 


behind which they were hidden. At the base of the 
slight mound they had pierced a hole to allow the 
passage of a paw. The}^ were watching for their prey 
with so much attention that they did not hear the 
approach of the two hunters. 

After waiting a few minutes, Yégor and M. Lafleur 
saw the head of a seal emerge prudently from the ice. 
The quickest of the two bears gave it a blow with its 
claws which brought it half-dead out of the water. 
Then the bears precipitated themselves upon the 
amphibious creature, tore it to pieces and began to 
devour it. 

This was a favorable moment to attack them. Yégor, 
who had had all the trouble in the world to restrain 
the two Siberian dogs and keep them silent, released 
them. On hearing them bark, the bears seemed uncer- 
tain as to whether they should allow themselves to be 
attacked or beat a retreat. But already M. Lafleur 
had fired a ball at each of them. The bears hesitated 
no longer, and seeing that they had to deal with reso- 
lute hunters, vanished behind the ice blocks. 


270 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XXVIL 

YERMAC PAYS HIS DEBT. 

T hen began an animated chase across the blocks 
of ice. Yègor and M. Lafleur advanced, guided 
by the furious barking of the dogs. But the bears 
went still faster; from time to time, the hunters saw 
them climbing over the icebergs, white as themselves, 
and altogether out of range of their guns. 

As they went along, M. Lafleur told Yégor, who put 
but slight faith in what he said, that when the ice of 
the sea commences to form, in the month of September, 
the white bear female captures and kills a great num- 
ber of seals which it hides in the hollows of some 
rock. Afterwards, it goes into the interior of the 
country to gorge itself with lichens, in order to create 
in its stomach a sort of mechanical obstruction ; then, 
it returns to its magazines of provisions and fills itself 
with as much seal fat as it can hold. This done, it 
takes up winter quarters in a hole it has dug in the 
side of a glacier. 

After a certain period of seclusion, it brings forth 
one, two and, sometimes, three cubs. In this crystal- 
line crib, it nourishes and exercises its progeny in 
walking until the commencement of April, when, in 
their turn, the seals begin to bring forth yodng. Then, 


THE EXILES. 


271 


the ursine family quits its retreat, the mother marching 
at its head and snuffing the air. It seeks out and 
follows, thanks to its scent, the invisible track of a 
seal as far as the spot where the poor creature is rear- 
ing its young offspring. When the bear has found the 
iglou of the seal, easy to recognize because of its 
round shape (like the iglou of the Esquimau), it 
makes a spring, bounds upon the top of the slight 
habitation, and makes such good use of its four paws 
and its weight that it breaks it in, immediately seizing 
upon the young seals with which to regale its cubs. 

Yégor observed to M. Lafleur that so many fables 
circulated in regard to the polar bear that it behooved 
one not to believe too readily everything said concern- 
ing it, especially its wintering by means of voluntary 
burial. 

Suddenly, as they were advancing a little distance 
apart, a third bear, putting the dogs off the scent — the 
dogs were running too far forward — surged up from 
behind a block of ice and came towards them with 
that confidence in its strength or that ignorance of 
danger which characterizes the bear of the Arctic 
Ocean. 

Yégor perceived it as it was treacherously advancing; 
he took aim at it, and M. Lafleur, quickly turning about 
at this moment, sent a ball after the bear, but missed 
it. Yégor waited until the animal came nearer. When 
it was within ten paces, he fired twice and hit it. 

The bear, feeling itself wounded, stopped for an 


272 


THE EXILES. 


instant and growled ; but it immediately took to 
flight, tinging the snow with its blood. 

M. Lafleur vainly discharged his gun at it. The 
bear scampered awa}^ and soon disappeared among 
blocks of ice whither it was impossible to pursue it. 

The dogs, badly trained for the chase, obstinately 
clung to the tracks of the first two bears, and the 
hunters ran a great risk of returning empty-handed — 
a prospect more than disagreeable, considering the 
scarcity of their provisions. 

Meanwhile, Nadège and Ladislas, who had remained 
in the hut beside the fire, grew anxious at the long 
absence of the hunters. Yermac, seated opposite to 
them, looked at them in silence, avoiding, when they 
spoke to him, any other reply than a motion of the 
head or a shrug of the shoulders. 

The look of this taciturn man weighed upon Nadège. 
Wab, doubtless hearing in the distance the barking of 
the two Siberian dogs, began to howl in a fashion that 
made an impression on the young girl. 

She put on her warmest garments and, followed by 
Ladislas, ventured out of the hut. The twiliglit had 
begun early, and the state of the sea se med to her a 
sufficient cause for uneasiness. Clouds, harbingers of 
a tempest, were heaped up to the east. Mists were 
rising from the ocean. Soon she saw the water, beaten 
by the hurricane, spring up in immense sheaves and 
fall back noisily upon the white promontories. 

Under the influence of a violent north- east wind, the 


THE EXILES. 


273 


yet free waters of several open spaces threw with 
unheard-of force enormous blocks upon the plains of 
ice which they broke into fragments. Plates of ice 
rose to the summits of the waves, dashed against each 
other with a crash and disappeared covered with foam. 
The waves rushed upon the blocks and buried them ; 
but, the next instant, the same blocks, rising again to 
the surface, scattered the water around them, and, 
hurling themselves upon the nearest masses, struggled 
until they got them under. A resonant and continual 
cracking of the breaking ice mingled with the noise of 
the waves uplifted by the wind. 

The explorers of the polar seas affirm that no word 
can describe the nature of this noise. It is at first 
under the convulsed and trembling ice, like the hissing 
of a thousand arrows, an infernal din in which tlie 
sharpest voices yelp mingled with the deepest, and the 
roaring becomes more and more savage. The ice 
breaks in concentric cracks ; its broken fragments 
roll one upon another. Then begins a ferocious, 
titanic strife, a headlong combat which recalls the 
battle of the elements in the first ages of the world. 
These masses march, meet, strike each other and dash 
against each other, changed by a hidden power and 
seeming to obey passions. 

Above these convulsive scenes, the reflection of the 
ice gives the sky a strange aspect and illuminates it 
with a supernatural light. 

Wab, still with Nadège, began to howl without 
respite. 


274 


THE EXILES. 


Ladislas strove to calm his sister’s fears. He told 
her — which was true — that Yegor and M. Lafleur were 
hunting among the chains of icebergs situated in the 
Avest, and that the free waters could not reach there to 
execute their sudden ravages. 

But the terrified Nadège advanced courageously over 
the sea, in the direction in which she might hope to 
meet -Yégor, whom she regretted having allowed to 
venture so far. The young girl thought that in the 
dim light the hunters Avould guide themselves by the 
barking of Wab; she counted upon the intelligence of 
Y égor’s dog, and followed the faithful animal which, 
in all probability, would go in the direction where the 
hunters were. 

Suddenly, it seemed to her — and to Ladislas also — 
that the solid plain over which they were advancing 
was in motion beneath their feet. They were not 
deceived. Soon the oscillations were more marked. 
Beneath their steps, the ice cracked and split. Several 
black clefts furrowed the snow at random : they were 
crevices in process of formation. 

Nadège wished to go back, but behind them now a 
canal had opened, encumbered with moving ice. At 
this sight, the young girl began to utter despairing 
cries. The lad tried in vain to quiet her. Wab barked 
louder than ever. The vast cake of ice upon which 
they were, floated. Suddenly, a wave lifted it, dragged 
it away and precipitated it with irresistible force upon 
the frozen surface. 


THE EXILES. 


276 


The shock was terrible ! A prolonged cracking 
resounded beneath their feet, and they felt that 
the wave, in withdrawing, had borne away enormous 
fragments of the broken block. 

Nevertheless, they arose unhurt. Guided by the 
instinct of Wab, they began to run in the direction 
opposite to the tempest, over a field of ice several 
feet thick which seemed likely to remain motionless 
and resist all the efforts made by the waves to separate 
it; but there, the ice blocks, strongly pressed one 
against another and bristling with jagged points, 
opposed a thousand obstacles to the retreat of the 
two poor creatures. 

Soon Ladislas, utterly exhausted, was incapable of 
advancing further. Nadège took him in her arms, 
lifted him up and, though an instant before almost 
‘ready to swoon, found strength sufficient to bear the 
child far from the perilous spot. 

Looking about for help, Nadège perceived Yermac, 
who had been drawn from the hut by the din of the 
tempest and the barking of Wab. 

The chief of police came towards them. He was 
speedily stopped by a crevice which Nadège had not 
yet seen but on the brink of which she soon arrived. 
The young girl gave vent to a heart-rending cry on 
seeing the insurmountable gap which had opened 
before them. It was a deep and very long fissure, 
full of water and bounded on the right by a perpen- 
dicular iceberg. It appeared to be seven or eight feet 
wide. 


276 


THE EXILES. 


Nadège and Ladislas seemed to have no other 
resource than to wait upon the spot until the wind 
should cease and new ice form and become strong 
enough to bear them, which would take place in a 
few hours. But the garments of both, wet with salt 
water, had frozen upon them. Immobility and waiting, 
therefore, meant death! 

Yermac had found a more prompt means of aiding 
them. Pieces of ice of different sizes lay upon the 
edge of the crevice ; he thought he could make a bridge 
of them, and immediately fell to work. At the first 
block he moved, Nadège comprehended his generous 
intention and felt all her hope revive. 

Some pieces of ice scattered about in the crevice, 
following the motion of the water; others fastened 
themselves to the opposite side of the crevice, and 
soon the bridge was firm enough for Ladislas first and 
then Nadège to cross it. The child had no sooner let go 
his sister’s hand than Yermac seized him and drew him 
over. After this trial, Nadège traversed the bridge of 
ice without assistance. As to Wab, the animal had 
followed Ladislas and then returned to Nadège as if to 
invite her to fear nothing. 

Ladislas embraced the chief of police. Nadège knew 
not how to express her deep gratitude to him for his 
intervention in the midst of their great danger. 

At this moment, Yegor and M. Lafleur, preceded by 
the two dogs, made their appearance, arriving, not 
without some trouble, from the west. 


TaE EXILES. 


277 


They also had suffered, the wind rendering their pro* 
gress very toilsome by lifting the snow and hurling it 
in their eyes. This snow thus agitated disarranged 
their route by forming, as do the shifting sands, 
ravines, little valleys and hillocks which they were 
forced to go around, sinking to the knees in a tine 
dust. 

The surprise of the hunters was extreme on seeing 
Nadège and Ladislas upon the ice, their garments cov- 
ered with an icy coat and stiff with stalactites, and 
Yermac beside them, wet also and shining with ice — 
for he had not spared himself while working. They 
were soon informed of what had taken place by 
Ladislas. 

“Ah! Monsieur Yermac!” cried Yégor, then, “you 
are better than you would have us believe. To-day 
you have saved the lives of all of us ! ” 

But, after the joy of finding each other again safe 
and sound, there was a disappointment: the hunters 
had brought back nothing fj-om their rough day’s 
chase. 

As to the chief of police, the day had been favorable 
to him. Once again he was square with Yégor. It 
was a good omen for him. 


278 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE TCHOUKTCHIS. 

r|'>HERE was no change in the disheartening situation 
X of the fugitives, except, apparently, an alteration 
ill the arrangements of the chief of police. Yermac’s 
attitude was less haughty. He allowed himself to be 
a trifle familiar with the lad and the young girl whom 
he had saved from certain death ; but the exiles felt 
that he maintained a reserve from which he would 
not depart. His cold kindness resembled that of a 
jailer to whom prisoners are conflded: his considera- 
tion and willingness to help did not go beyond a 
certain limit fixed in advance. Besides, he persisted 
in refusing to touch the few provisions which appeared 
upon the common table. 

In the midst of their penury, with famine threaten- 
ing them if the Yakoutes did not soon return, the 
fugitives had a stroke of good luck. 

Wab succeeded in capturing unaided a deer of the 
same species as that recently killed by Yermac. The 
dog leaped at its throat and did not let go until the 
animal was strangled. This exploit accomplished, the 
brave dog returned to the hut, and displayed such a 
desire to have Yégor follow it that the young man did 
so, the dog leading him to the spot where the victim lay. 
The two other dogs were keeping guard over the 


THE EXILES. 


279 


precious prey. The deer was drawn triumphantly to 
the hut and the dogs were not forgotten, especially Wab. 

Yermac, still inflexible, limited himself to remarking 
that his deer was larger than that killed by Wab. 

M. Lafleur, seeing the difficulty of placing his hand 
on a bear, fell back upon the seals. He made a har- 
poon and used the Siberian dogs to discover the retreats 
of the amphibious creatures. The dogs, gifted with 
keen scent, led him to a number of those narrow open- 
ings that the seals make in the ice and through which 
they breathe — and get harpooned. The Parisian, despite 
cold and hunger, passed days and nights in watching 
for a prey that defied his inexperience as a fisherman, 
as the bears had defied his lack of skill as a hunter. 

Finally, supreme succor reached the fugitives one 
evening in the shape of two old Tchouktchis, male and 
female. Si^ffering from hunger and thirst — for thirst 
is as imperious and difficult to satisfy in these deserts 
of snow as it can be in those deserts where the sun 
scorches the sands — they had come from the Bay of 
Tchaounsk and were going along the coast in search of 
a station of natives, there to beg for some provisions. 
They had perceived the smoke escaping from the roof 
of the hut and had come to ask for hospitality. 

“ Toroma ! ” said they, in one voice, as they entered. 
This meant good evening. 

Yégor regretted the absence of his faithful Tékel, 
who knew a little of the language of the Tchouktchis, 
and answered at random : 

‘‘ 'roroma ! ” 


280 


THE EXILES. 


From their miserable looks more than their gestures, 
the fugitives understood what the}^ wanted, and, 
although the supply of provisions was approaching the 
end, the two poor wretches had for supper enough to 
furnish the two meals of the next day and that succeed- 
ing, for their appetites seemed immense, their hunger 
insatiable. 

The type of these natives recalled the Mongolian 
type of the old world, combined with the type of the 
Indians of the north of America — of Behring's Strait — 
a field of solid ice for a part of the year serving as a 
bond of union between the two races as between the 
two continents. 

The man wore several reindeer skin blouses; his 
head \vas covered with a hairy hood which also covered 
his shoulders beneath his outside garment. His shoes 
were made of bear skin with the hair on the exterior. 
His wife, who was covered with a number of tunics, 
tied at the hem so as to form pantaloons and with 
sleeves open at the wrists, had her face tattooed with 
stripes of dark blue. 

Despite the hunger which tortured him, the Tchouk- 
tchi seemed deeply impressed b}^ Nadège's beauty 
which was altogether new to him. He could not take 
from her his admiring and curious eyes and, as he 
examined her, he entered into a talk with his wife in 
which the word kamakay was often repeated. (A 
kamakay is a chief of a tribe.) 

Then, after having noticed M. Lafleur’s harpoon in a 
corner, the Tchouktchi seemed astonished that he had 


THE EXILES. 


281 


not been given slices of seal fat to eat. M. Lafleur 
made him understand by gestures that he had tried to 
capture seals, but without success. At this, the native, 
designating himself by striking his chest and pointing 
to the harpoon and dogs, promised to give, as soon as 
day dawned, a lesson to the Parisian whom he took for 
a Russian. 

The next da}^ in fact, the native was not long in 
harpooning a seal. Guided by the dogs, he reached a 
breathing-hole of these creatures. Then, he sounded 
the snow with the harpoon to the depth of two or three 
feet; for the seal cuts its breathing-hole through the 
ice, but stops at the coating of snow. The little open- 
ing found, the fisherman waited patiently and in 
silence until the seal came to breathe the air. At the 
second or third breath, the harpoon, swiftly penetrating 
the snow, plunged into the head of the animal. 

The seal dived and drew out to its full length the 
line prepared in advance, which was fifteen mètres 
long. This line is fastened to the iron of the harpoon 
and the other extremity is in the hand of the harpooner. 
The breathing-hole of the seal, immediately cleared of 
the snow which covered it, was enlarged so as to 
permit the passage of the body of the animal when it 
should become exhausted. The native speedily drew 
the seal from the hole and carried it to the hut. 

There, after the lesson in fishing, took place the 
lesson in cooking. 

While the man cut up the seal, the woman, in order 

18 


282 


THE EXILES. 


to be useful, made oil for the lamp by chewing pieces 
of the fat of the animal. She toiled so arduously at 
her singular work that she soon filled a wooden jar 
with oil of her manufacture. 

The seal cut up, the native, by way of example, 
stretched himself upon his back to be fed by his wife 
with pieces of the fat, which she stuffed in his mouth 
as one stuffs a chicken. 

“ It’s all over ! ” cried M. Lafleur, after partaking of 
the seal fat. “You no longer need be uneasy about my 
food, my friends. As long as there are ice and seals, I 
shall not be a burden to you and will abandon to you 
my share of everything else.” 

Yermac, who had allowed to be piled up before him 
seal steaks, raw liver and slices of fat, hesitated what to 
do. He had not tasted of the deer strangled by Wab, 
and for very many days his food had been terribly lack- 
ing both in quality and quantity. At length, he 
decided to taste the seal flesh, and followed the example 
of the Parisian. 

The Tchouktchi, having met with success, no 
longer hesitated about swallowing all the pieces of the 
seal within his reach. He ate pounds and pounds of it, 
and, when he had reached the last stages of repletion, 
threw himself flat upon the floor of the hut, abandon- 
ing himself to the gigantic work of digestion. 

The next day, the natives, revictualled for a time, 
departed without ceremony, carrying away the remains 
of the seal and stealing a small and curiously worked 
skin bag in which matches were kept. 


THE EXILES. 283 

The fugitives soon had reason to repent of the kind 
reception they had given them. 

Meanwhile, M. Lafleur profited by their teachings. 
One day, after having harpooned a seal, he drew it out 
of its hole. As he knelt upon the ice, he felt himself 
familiarly tapped upon the shoulder and thought that 
Ladislas had come up behind him. He pulled the 
harpoon from the flesh of the animal, but the hand 
upon his shoulder grew heavier. The Parisian turned 
and nearly fell backward on perceiving a huge white 
bear which had watched the details of the harpooning 
and shamelessly claimed the animal captured. The 
bear, taking advantage of the deference shown it by 
M. Lafleur, who yielded place to it, as may readily be 
believed, seized upon the seal and carried it off, without 
as much as a growl of thanks, in the direction of its 
den. From that moment, M. Lafleur no longer went 
harpooning unless armed with his gun. 

The chief of police had, it seems, acquired a taste 
for seal flesh. After having followed the Parisian 
once or twice, he borrowed his harpoon and succeeded 
in capturing a superb seal, the best cuts of the fat of 
which he carefully laid aside. 

This astonished Yégor. 

“What does he want with that supply of fat?” 
asked he of M. Lafleur. 

What did he want with it ? Seeing that the Yakoutes 
did not return, he was resolutely thinking of flight and 
getting ready his provisions for his journey. 


284 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE ICE-BOUND SHIP AND ITS SKELETON CREW. 

lyjADEGE and Ladislas had such repugnance for 
JLl seal flesh — perhaps, because the}^ had tasted the 
strange food preparations of the native couple who 
had visited them — that M. Lafleur induced Yegor to 
resume hunting the white bear. 

Hunger was making itself cruelly felt in the hut, 
when one morning Yégor and his friend went courage- 
ously upon the frozen surface of the sea. The cold, 
very sharp for some days past, had solidified it, this 
time, beyond all danger of accident. 

The hunters walked for more than a league among 
the heaps of broken ice blocks which formed the hum- 
mocks adhering to the shore. The two Siberian dogs 
accompanied them. Wab had been left at the hut for 
the security of Nadège and Ladislas. 

They arrived in front of broad and lofty icebergs, 
which had come there from afar off, from the west, 
doubtless, and probably from the coasts of Greenland 
where the mountains of ice incessantly detach them- 
selves, with the crash of thunder, from immense 
glaciers often a hundred kilomètres in extent. 

Suddenly, from the summit of a painfully climbed 
iceberg, Yégor saw, hidden, buried behind enormous 


THE EXILES. 


285 


îey masses, a stout ribbed ship, motionless and enclosed 
in a field of ice. He uttered a cry of surprise and 
pointed out his discovery to M. Lafleur, who at that 
moment rejoined him. 

Upon the frozen and greenish white sea, where the 
whiteness of the snow imitated the foam of the waves, 
the black carcass of the ship stood out darkly, with 
white network spread by the snow over all the parts in 
relief, as if to bring out the hues of mourning. But 
the deck, the masts, the yards and the cordage, covered 
with beautiful star-shaped snow crystals, which shone 
with a thousand lustres in the sun, drove away this 
first impression, substituting for it the comparison of a 
gigantic gewgaw of spun glass. 

The first movement of Yégor and M. Lafleur was to 
retreat down the side of the iceberg, which would hide 
them and from whence they could observe whether 
they had to deal with friends or enemies. The ship 
bore neither sails nor flag; the thick, square shape of 
its ribs was that of the fishing vessels which face the 
dangers of the navigation of the polar seas. The dogs 
barked. They silenced them. 

After half a minute’s attention, M. Lafleur saw 
moving on board a creature enveloped in an animal’s 
skin; perhaps, the lookout of the ship had seen and 
was watching them. 

“ \Ye are observed Î ” said M. Lafleur. 

“ Wait a little, my friend,” answered Yégor, who 
saw the dogs with their hair standing on end ; and with 


286 


THE EXILES. 


these words, aiming his gun, he fired at the so-called 
lookout. 

“ What are you doing ? ” cried M. Lafleur, alarmed. 

“I was sure that it was not a man!” said Yégor, 
with a laugh. “ Let go the dogs ! ” 

A huge white bear shook itself upon the deck, per- 
plexed by the hiss of the ball about its ears. 

“ It is a bear I ” cried the Parisian, “and the first we 
have met to-day.” 

The two dogs were already running around the ship, 
barking furiously, but keeping at a prudent distance. 

“But the ship?” said Yégor, with some constraint. 
“ It is, perhaps, the phantom ship of the legends ! ” 

“ Those legends are laughed at on the banks of the 
Seine,” observed the Parisian. “For us, this enor- 
mous bulk of wood is nothing else, to all appearances, 
than the den of a bear — some ship abandoned by its 
crew.” 

“Very likely,” said Yégor, “and in that case we will, 
perhaps, find in it supplies that will enable us to dis- 
pense with pursuing our unprofitable hunt.” * 

“ As to the bear,” said M. Lafleur, “ it is upon a 
territory to which we have a much better right.” 

“ The least we can do is to dislodge it,” said Yégor. 

The bear had disappeared. It had, without doubt, 
taken refuge in the between-decks. 

The two hunters glided to the base of the iceberg, 
and approached the vessel without further delay. 
Yégor quickly recognized it as a Dutch whaler. 


THE EXILES. 287 

Soon they reached the round sides of the ship. They 
hailed — no one answered. 

“Evidently there is not a living soul on board!” said 
Yégor. 

“ Otherwise we would have to believe that the bear 
was tame ! ” observed M. Lafleur. 

They climbed upon the deck, leaving their dogs on 
the ice, and there a horrible spectacle presented itself 
to their gaze. 

Five men — five skeletons clad in sailor’s garments— 
were stretched upon the deck, amid objects and wrecks 
of all sorts. 

“ Poor fellows I ” cried Yégor. 

In their horror, they forgot the bear. Nevertheless, 
the sound of steps was heard below. 

“ Attention I ” cried M. Lafleur. “ That must be the 
bear ! ” 

The dogs continued to bark as if to keep them on 
the lookout. 

At this moment the white head of a bear appeared at 
one of the hatchways, wdth its pointed muzzle, its open 
and menacing mouth and its ferocious looking red eyes. 

Yégor, without loss of time, lodged a ball in the 
animal’s neck. Mortally wounded, it bounded with 
rage towards its assailant. M. Lafleur fired in his turn ; 
but he hit the bear on the ear, and the creature paid no 
attention to such a trifle. 

Yégor, on seeing it advance towards him, endeavored 
to snatch a hatchet that lay within reach of his hand ; 


288 


THE EXILES. 


he seized it, but the hatchet was soldered to the deck 
by the ice and resisted every effort to loosen it. All 
would have been over with Ydgor, if the Parisian, 
quickly springing forward, the but of his gun in the 
air, had not dealt upon the animal’s head so terrible a 
blow that the weapon broke. The animal, a little dis- 
concerted only, was hesitating between M. Lafleur 
and Yegor, when the latter, who had succeeded in 
disengaging the hatchet, lifted it as high as he could 
reach and, bringing it down with all his strength, 
broke the skull of the terrible beast. When he saw it 
stretched on the deck, he finished it with two or three 
well directed blows. Little did lie care about mangling 
the fur. 

“ All honor to you ! ” cried Lafleur. “ At last 
we will have a roast ! ” 

“ Oh ! never for our table ! ” exclaimed Yégor, with 
a look of disgust. And lie called his companion’s atten- 
tion to the fact that the bones of the corpses, especially 
the skulls, had been gnawed by bears. 

“ But,” said M. Lafleur, was the bear we have 
killed the one we mistook for a lookout? We had 
better be careful, for the dogs continue to bark ! ” 

The Parisian was riglit, for scarcely had he finished 
speaking when another bear, an enormous one — it was 
the female — rose up menacingly from behind a pile of 
boxes that the snow had converted into a slope. 

“ Attention ! ” cried Yegor. 

Yègor lifted his hatchet. M. Lafleur, drawing back 


THE EXILES. 


289 


a few steps, unsheathed his huge hunting-knife. But 
the bear, astonished at this reception and these defen- 
sive preparations, made a half turn and ran away, 
growling, prudently looking behind it to assure itself 
that it was not too closely pursued. 

The hunters allowed it without opposition to slide 
down the side of the ship, pursued by the barking of 
the dogs, which they strove to restrain b}^ reiterated 
calls, and when they saw it run over the hummocks 
towards the ice hills, they experienced great relief. 

“ Decidedly,” observed M. Lafleur, “ this kind of a 
hunt is too exciting for my temperament. If we only 
find here some boxes of biscuit, they will be of great 
help to us during the winter.” 

“ But suppose the bears have devoured everything?” 
said Yégor. 

M. Lafleur made a grimace. 

“ We shall soon know about that,” said he. 

They went to the hatchway and descended to the 
between-decks. A spectacle more horrible still than 
that on deck awaited them there : the bones and skulls 
of ten corpses transformed this place into a veritable 
charnel-house. 

“ Why were not the first who died buried by the 
others ?” asked Yégor of M. Lafleur. 

Because, my friend,” replied the latter, “ the entire 
crew must have been stricken with that terrible disease 
known as the scurvy. Those who have it are attacked 
by an intolerable stiffness of the legs ; they limp ; they 


290 


THE EXILES. 


can neither sleep nor even rest ; they lose all appetite, 
and their inflamed gums are extremely painful, while 
a general weakness of the body promptly comes on — 
it is the indication of approacliing dissolution. The 
death of these brave mariners must have occurred last 
winter. But what if, in this between-decks which is 
carefully stopped up and in which the air has not been 
renewed, we ourselves should take the scurvy ? ” 

“ It is easily taken, then ? ” 

“ Yes ; but always under like conditions.” 

“ Such is, happily, not the case with us. Let us 
have some air and go straight to the provisions.” 

With his hatchet which he still retained possession 
of, Yégor cut the ropes which closed the scuttles. Air 
and light penetrated into the between-decks. 

“We inherit everything,” said M. Lafleur. 

“ On one condition.” 

“ What is that ? ” 

“ That we give sepulture to the remains of these 
unfortunates.” 

“ Agreed. But look : they possessed an organ.” 

“ It was, without doubt, to abridge the weariness of 
the long winter.” 

Beside the stove, in company with the coal box, a 
hand-organ stood upon a low table. M. Lafleur turned 
the handle and, by a sort of poignant irony, the instru- 
ment gave vent to some strains of a gay dance air. 

Then, Yégor and M. Lafleur, affected in the highest 
degree by the contrast of this lively music with the 


THE EXILES. 291 

heart-reading picture before them, felt tears come into 
their eyes. 

On the organ was a large book. 

Yégor glanced at it: it was a Dutch Bible. Upon 
the margins of the book could be read, traced by the 
failing hand of the captain, the names of the first 
sailors who died, followed by some sad reflections. 
Yegor, who knew English and German, understood 
enough of the Dutch language to obtain from this 
record the explanation of this tragedy of the polar 
seas. The whaler had been surprised by the ice at the 
Island of Barentz, belonging to the Spitzbergen group. 
M. Lafleur had not been wrong in considering the 
scurvy the active cause of the death of all the crew. 

The name of the captain figured a little further on 
in these lugubrious pages. His second in command 
had taken up the pen and had passed it, in his turn, to 
a survivor. The last marginal note read thus : 

But four of us are left: Molis Stoke, of Haarlem, 
sailor ; Dijrk Hooft, called tlie Spreker, of Medenblik, 
sailor ; Heymann Jaarsveldt, of Elburg, our ship-boy, 
and myself, Alberdingk Huijdecoper, of Rotterdam, 
chief cook. We have no longer the strength to assist 
each other. Something horrible may possibly happen: 
what if the Avhite bears which are prowling around the 
ship should come on board and devour us alive ? 

“ Poor men ! ” thought Yegor, as he closed the Bible. 
“ That is probably what took place ! 


292 


THE EXILES. 


Already M. Lafleur was searching everywhere. 
From time to time, while Yégor was running over the 
margins of the Bible, he cried: 

“ Lard ! — biscuit ! — rum ! — concentrated milk — fifty 
boxes of it ! The preserved meat has been eaten by 
the bears! Twenty pots of pemmican ! — ‘Sugar! Oh! — 
flour! — bottles of red wine and a box of candles — 
intact ! More biscuit — a cask full ! A package of 
vermicelli! Chocolate — ten kilos at least! But what 
havoc ! The foxes have aided the bears ! Green beans 
in boxes ! Sardines in oil ! ” 

“Well, my dear friend,” said Yégor to him, “let us 
bundle up some of these things and carry them away. 
We will carefully close the scuttles.” 

“ What if we should not find the whaler again ? ” 

“ Oh ! the sea is as solid as a rock. But let us load 
ourselves with as much as our strength will permit.” 

“I see some matches.” 

“ Take them. They will replace those stolen from 
us the other day by the Tchouktchis.” 

“ There is some charcoal ! ” 

“We can do without that. Give preference to those 
articles which will restore the strength of Nadège and 
her brother.” 

Two hours afterwards, Yégor and the Parisian, bend- 
ing beneath their loads, were bearing to the hut the 
first installment of what they had found. M. Lafleur 
had wished to take the organ, claiming that a little 
music would cheer the party up ; Ladislas would turn 


THE EXILES. 


293 


the handle and he would accompany him on his pocket 
violin. Yégor had some trouble to dissuade him from 
it ; as to himself, he bore away the Bible. 

They reached the hut, enjoying in advance the hap- 
piness they were about to cause. 

“We shall see,” observed M. Lafleur, “if Yermac 
will turn up his nose at the milk and sugar, the sardines 
in oil and the salted lard ! ” 

The two dogs preceded them. 

Yégor was surprised at not seeing Wab come to meet 
him. A presentiment of evil stole upon him. He laid 
all he was carrying on the ice and ran towards the hut, 
calling Nadège and Ladislas. 

At last, he entered the hut. It was empty. Nadège, 
Ladislas and Yermac were nowhere to be seen. The 
fire had long since died out. Marks of a struggle 
were everywhere. 

M. Lafleur rejoined him. He found him in dismay. 

“ What does all this mean ? ” asked he. 

“I do not know — I cannot understand it. My 
reason totters — and I feel as if I were going to die I ” 

“ Where could they have gone ? ” 

“ I cannot imagine ; but I am convinced that a ter- 
rible misfortune has happened ! Look, Monsieur 
Lafleur : the table is overturned, the furs are scattered 
and soiled, and there are ashes as far as the door. They 
have taken one of our guns.” 

“ And also my harpoon,” said the Parisian. “ Could 
Yermac have made a stroke in his peculiar fashion?” 


294 


THE EXILES. 


“What stroke could he have made?” asked Yégor, 
dreading to hear his friend’s reply. 

“ Carry oft*. Nadège and the child,” answered he, “to 
force us to retrace our steps, to deliver ourselves up to 
him when he should be backed b}’ some force or other.” 

“ Oh ! that would be odious ! ” cried Yégor. “ What 
shall we do? Shall we set out in pursuit of them 
without loss of time ? But I am annihilated, incapable 
of walking a step. Let us examine the tracks on the 
snow.” 

They lighted their lantern, for night had come on, 
and went out. 

The snow was trodden all around the hut. The 
footprints led to a mound, behind which it was easy to 
see that a sledge drawn by several reindeer had been 
stationed. P’rom thence they could follow over the 
hardened snow the direction taken by the sledge. 

“A narta! ” cried Yégor — “and we can only pursue 
them on foot! We shall never overtake them! Oh! 
what a day ! and this Yermac — ! ’* 

“I begin to think that he must have had a hand in 
this business,” said M. Lafleur. 

“ If he were not its author, he would be here — he 
would have defended Nadège and the lad. In his 
place, I would have fought for them while I had life ! 
It must have been Yermac. He has taken advantage 
of some circumstance, of some chance.” 

“ But,” said the Parisian, suddenly, “ the sledge has 
not gone towards the Russian possessions ! ” 


THE EXILES. 


295 


“You are right,’’ answered Y^gor, astonished that 
he himself had not noticed this fact. 

“ At this advanced hour and fatigued as we are, it 
would be difficult for us to set out. Believe me, 
Yégor, it is better for us to wait until to-morrow. 
In the meanwhile, perhaps, we may be enlightened by 
some revealing indication. Come in, my friend ; after 
our fatigue and our emotions, the cold will seize upon 
us — come.” 

Yégor allowed himself to be drawn along by his 
friend, without making the least resistance. 


296 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XXX. 
wab’s intelligence. 

HAT a sad evening that was, passed at the 



corner of the fire, while the winter wind blew 
violently without. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur looked at each other, without 
daring to exchange their painful reflections. They had 
joyously brought all sorts of provisions, but they 
touched nothing. 

“Even the dog,” murmured Yégor, “even the dog — 
all gone ! It is inexplicable. Wab would never wil- 
lingly have followed Yermac. What are we to think? 
What must we decide upon? ” 

At this moment they heard a barking out-of-doors. 

“It is the Siberian dogs,” said M. Lafleur. 

Yégor listened attentively. 

“No; it is Wab,” said he, rising; “but the animal 
is worried by something — perhaps wounded.” 

And he op'ened the door of the hut. 

It Avas, indeed, Wab. The creature bounded in and 
laid at its master’s feet the little silk embroidered rein- 
deer skin bag which the Tchouktchis had stolen from 
them a few days before. 

“Look! ’’cried Yégor. “Those beggars who came 
here have had something to do with our misfortune. 


THE EXILES. 


297 


Wab has brought back the bag they robbed us of. The 
animal must have followed Nadège to their village.’’ 

Wab leaped upon Yégor, licking his hands and utter- 
ing little cries of joy. The young man caressed the 
animal with a tenderness justified by the fidelity and 
intelligence it had displayed. 

“We noticed,” said M. Lafleur, “that the Tchouk- 
tchis, who came from the east, retraced their steps 
instead of going towards the west as was very probably 
at first their intention. The tracks of the sledge also 
go to the east. Evidently, Wab has returned from 
their lint, which signifies that their village is not far 
distant from here. But what rôle must we assign to 
the chief of police in all this?” 

“ That is a very difficult matter to determine ! ” 
answered Yegor. 

“At least we possess some indications,” said the 
Parisian. “ I now recall the strange fashion in which 
the native stared at Nadège, while speaking to his wife 
of his kamakay.” 

“ You have hit it, my excellent friend I ” cried Yégor. 
“This chief of their tribe has come here in conse- 
quence of the report of the two natives. Oh ! my poor 
Nadège ! In what affliction she must be ! But the 
chief of police ? ” 

“We always come back to him!” exclaimed the 
Parisian. 

The latter had scarcely ceased speaking, when a faint 
voice uttered his name. 

19 


298 


THE EXILES. 


“ Who calls me ? ” asked he, growing slightly pale. 

“ Monsieur Lafleur ! ” repeated the voice. 

The two watchers raised their heads. This name 
had fallen from above, through the aperture made in 
the roof for the escape of the smoke. 

“ Well ! here is the chief of police ! ” cried Yégor. 

“ Open the door ! ” again said the voice. 

“ You think it is he, do you ? ” demanded M. Xafleur, 
a trifle reassured. “I will admit him then. Those 
skeletons, those bones, which we saw to-day, together 
with the strange surprise which awaited us on our 
return, have completely upset me.” 

An instant afterwards, Yermac entered the but 
behind M. Lafleur. 

“Can one ask where you have been?” said M. 
Lafleur to him, roughly. “ Certainly, we have not been 
in the habit of troubling you about 3^our movements ; 
but things have happened here which make us desire 
to know wh}^ you return at this hour of the night I ” 

“ To what things do you allude ? ” asked the chief of 
police, who now perceived the disorder of the hut and 
Yégor’s dejection and divined the absence of Nadège 
and her brother. “ Has some misfortune occurred ? ” 
added he, questioning instead of replying. “ Nadège ? 
— Ladislas?” 

“ Gone ! ” said Yégor. 

“ Upon the sea, as was the case the other day? — or 
lost along the coast ? ” 

“ Abducted ! ” said M. Lafleur. “ When we arrived, 
everything here was in extreme disorder.” 


THE EXILES. 


299 


“Abduction! — violence!” murmured Yermac, sud- 
denly resuming his role of chief of police. “But,” 
added he, in a loud voice and almost with an accent of 
triumph, “how could you expose a young girl and a 
child to such risks as you are running! It would have 
been a hundred times better to have gone back when I 
summoned you to do so ! Then I would have interceded 
in your behalf with the governor of Yakoutsk. But, 
now,” said Yermac, changing his tone, “this young 
lady and her brother, the poor little Pole, are in the 
power of a sanguinary tribe in rebellion against the 
Czar’s authority, whose laws are made only by the 
chamans, and who, despite the fact that a large number 
of natives have been baptized, still offer human sacri- 
fices ! See what your ingenious plans have brought 
you to. Monsieur Séménoff!” 

“We shall all die, perhaps,” answered Yégor, with a 
deep sigh, “ but we shall die free ! ” 

“ Free ? That’s but a word ! ” said Yermac. 

“A word. Monsieur the chief of police !” cried the 
Parisian. “ With that word many things are done. I, 
who was born on the Place de la Bastille, can assure 
you of that with a full knowledge of the facts. Vive 
la liberté! But,” added M. Lafleur, “you do not tell 
us where you have been ! ” 

“Where I have been!” answered Yermac. “Ah! 
do not ask me ! ” 

With these words, he sat down beside the fire, his 
elbows upon his knees and his head in his hands. 


300 


THE EXILES. 


•ft 

Yégor and the Parisian signed to each other not to dis- 
turb him. On partially turning, Yermac saw upon the 
table, which M. Lafleur had righted, all sorts of pro- 
visions arranged in good order. 

“ So the nartas have arrived ! ” cried he, joyously, 
springing to his feet. 

“No,” said M. Lafleur. “We brought all those 
things here a little while ago.” 

“ Where did you get them ? ” asked he, in astonish- 
ment. 

“Ah! do not ask me!” answered the Parisian, 
repeating the chief of police’s words of a minute 
before. He even added the intonation. 

Yermac understood and, relapsing into silence, 
resumed his place beside the fire. 

We will now throw some light on the mystery sur- 
rounding his absence from the hut for an entire day 
and a large portion of the night. 

The chief of police, despairing of again seeing Tékel 
and Chort, had resolved to try to escape on foot. He 
started immediately after the departure of Yégor and 
M. Lafleur for the chase, taking with him only the 
supply of seal fat he had kept in reserve. After walk- 
ing for five or six hours in the exceedingly bitter cold, 
covered with heavy clothing, he paused, uncertain as 
to whether he should continue his journey or not. 

Foxes, attracted by the odor of the seal fat, pressed 
thickly about him. He threatened them with his stick, 
but without driving them very far away. It was a bad 


THE EXILES. 


301 


beginning*. The wind commenced to blow strongly. 
Wiiat a prospect for tlje night! Where should he 
sleep? If he stretched liimself out in the midst of the 
toundra, the foxes would carry off his provisions and, 
perhaps, attack liim. Without food, no journey, no 
escape, was possible. Was he even certain of the route 
he Avas following? The sky was covered with clouds, 
and there were no stars to guide him. There Avas not 
a tree, from the moss on the bark of which he could 
ascertain the four cardinal points. His attempt seemed 
to him Avorse than foolish. Never, under such condi- 
tions, could he reach Nijni-Kolimsk. 

Far better Avould it be to retrace his steps and try to 
find the road he had passed over. That Avas Avhat he 
did. He disembarrassed himself of the greater part 
of his provisions upon which the foxes immediately 
threw themselves, and, a trifle less loaded, regained 
the coast, making an error Avhich brought liim to the 
ocean several kilomètres from the hut. But once'there, 
he discovered his Avhereabouts from the configuration 
of the capes and bays. 

A few hours later, he ran against the wooden cross 
Avhich marked the grave of his son. He knelt upon 
the tomb. When he arose, he had no difficulty in find- 
ing the hut, Avbich AA^as almost buried in the snoAV, but 
from the roof of Avhich escaped a cloud of smoke 
reflecting the flames of the hearth. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur, finding, the next day, that 
the slices of seal fat put aside by the chief of police 


302 


THE EXILES. 


were gone, and accepting as sincere his surprise and 
even pain when he discovered the absence of Nadège 
and the lad, suspected the truth. 

What an immense task was now imposed upon them I 
They must find Nadège and Ladislas and snatch them 
from the hands of their abductors. Yégor could not 
pursue his attempt, so courageously carried on up to 
that time, before having attained this result. 


THE EXILES. 


303 


CHAPTER XXXL 


THE PURSUIT. 



FTER a night passed without sleep — the three men 


JlX. had remained seated about the fire in silence — 
Yegor and M. Lafleur ran to the tracks of the narta : 
they were still perfectly visible. Yégor’s dog barked 
in the direction taken by the sledge and then began to - 
run that they might follow it ; the animal returned and 
again went through the same manœuvre. 

“Thanks to Wab,” said M. Lafleur, “we will find 
them ! ” 

“I hope so,” cried Yégor; “but shall we abandon 
the hut, go forward, taking Yermac with us, and pur- 
sue our journey towards the Gulf of Anadyr when we 
have recovered Nadège and Ladislas ? ” 

“And what of the expected nartas in that case?” 
said M. Lafleur. “ What would become of our guides? 
Besides, can we undertake such a journey on foot? 

No, believe me ; let us leave the hut in charge of the 
chief of police and set out with as little baggage as 
possible. We will return here.” 

They returned to the hut and hastily made their pre- 
parations, deciding to take but a small quantity of food 
with them. But they did not forget their weapons: 
Yégor his gun and pistols and the Parisian the hatchet 


804 


TH^ EXILES. 


found on board the whaler, which he took to replace 
his gun broken over the skull of the white bear. 

At the moment of departure^ Ydgor told Yermac 
that he could dispose of tlie food contained in the hut. 

“You insist uselessly, Monsieur Séménoff,” said the 
chief of police. “ I would rather die of hunger than 
touch it. But will you not satisfy my curiosity by 
telling me Avhere you procured those provisions ? ” 

“I will tell you,” said Yegor, “and the information 
will, perhaps, remove your repugnance,” 

He then told him of the discovery of the whaling 
vessel. 

“ But,” said the chief of police, “ the contents of the 
ship must be saved. What is its name ? ” 

“ I do not know.” 

“That is, however, what must be known first of all. 

I will discover it. I will make a note of the place from 
whence the ship sailed; the owners shall be informed 
of what has happened and shall, in a certain measure, 
be indemnified by our government, provided the sup- 
plies, appendages, utensils, arms, hull and masts can be 
sold at Nijni-Kolirask or the fair of Ostrovoyé — but 
that is impossible ; we can only make use of the aban- 
doned food, and that in a very small quantity accord- 
ing to our needs.” 

“ You consent then to utilize the resources furnished 
us by the whaler ? ” 

“ Certainly. This time it is for the account of the ^ 


THE EXILES. 305 

government of the Czar, which will pay for what is 
used.” 

“ Arrange that to suit yourself, Monsieur Yermac,” 
said Yégor; “the most important point is that you 
may not suffer and waste away, and that I can leave 
you liere a few days feeling certain that on iny return 
I shall find you .alive.” 

Yermac might have shown himself sensible of the 
interest Ydgor took in him, had he been a man to 
indulge in amiable words. As it was, he was for a 
moment embarrassed and, to relieve himself, turned his 
back to Yégor. 

Satisfied in regard to the chief of police, Yégor 
started on his journey, accompanied by M. Lafleur. 
Wab ran on before, without straying too far from the 
coast. 

Soon they perceived to the east, and at a distance 
of a hundred verstes. Mounts Vayvanine, Geyla and 
Raoutane, as well as the pointed rocks of Cape Ché- 
lagsk. The dog led them towards the south-west, 
across abrupt earthy hillocks and frozen lakes. At 
night, they halted for a few hours on the snow, having 
nothing with them that could soften the rigors of such 
a sojourm 

The next da3% they passed through a district cut up 
by great numbers of deep lakes of different sizes, 
separated from each other by a kind of natural dykes, 
not more than an inch thick and formed, as well as the 
soil, of never melting ice covered with a little earth. 


306 


THE EXILES. 


After a toilsome walk, they finally reached the western 
shore of the Bay of Tchaounsk. 

Still guided by Wab and themselves, continuing to 
follow the tracks of the sledge on the snow, they went 
along the sides of the hills parallel to the coast, over a 
narrow strip of sand on which they noticed remains of 
sea-kale with large leaves and of some other marine 
plants. 

An east wind was blowing impetuously. The sky 
was clear. At noon, a celestial phenomenon of extra- 
ordinary beauty attracted their attention and stopped 
them, for an instant, in the midst of their breathless 
and toilsome career. Around the sun appeared four 
other suns connected with each other by brilliant rain- 
bows of the most vivid colors ; the whole formed a 
circle the diameter of which equalled forty degrees; 
besides, a horizontal rainbow, about eighty degrees 
long, passed across the real sun and the apparent suns 
which surrounded it ; at its extremities arose perpen- 
dicularly two little rainbows, the very pale hues of 
which contrasted with those of the main one. This 
phenomenon lasted two hours. The wind abated little 
by little and then snow fell, being converted into a 
snow hurricane of medium intensity. 

Yégor and M. Lafleur sheltered themselves as best 
they could, but were filled with dismay to see fall the 
fresh snow which would efface the traces borne by the 
old. Would the dog again find the scent? When the 


THE EXILES. 


307 


tempest had ceased, Wab was stimulated by them to 
go forward. The dog at first seemed altogether at 
fault : it followed and abandoned successively several 
scents ; finally, it seemed to have made up its mind, 
and Yégor, who had commenced to despair and give 
way to all his chagrin, regained confidence. He and 
his companion decided to trust to the animal’s instinct, 
and resumed their journey. 

Meanwhile, the chief of police had gone in search of 
the whaler, and, remembering Yegor’s description, he 
found it without difficulty. His first care was, as he 
had said, to ascertain the name of the ship. It was 
the Hugo and Maria. 

He had already copied the names of the captain, the 
second in command and the crew from the Bible 
secured by Yégor. He drew up an inventory of all 
the material and supplies the whaler contained. This 
done, he began to transport to the hut everything that 
was neither too heavy nor too embarrassing, making 
trip after trip, indefatigable in this work of preservation 
which he had almost as much at heart as success in 
bringing back the fugitive exiles to Yakoutsk. 

Whoever could have seen him, wrapped up in his 
skin garments, his head covered with a fur hood 
descending to the base of his neck, a hatchet and an 
auger stuck in his leather belt, a keg under his arm 
and a gun on his shoulder, and, besides, finding the 
means to drag after him a saw, a sack of biscuit and 


308 


THE EXILES. 


packages of cartridges, would certainly have taken 
him for an Arctic Robinson Crusoe. 

One evening, the Yakoute guides arrived, making a 
great noise with their tliirty-two dogs and aw’^akening 
the echoes of the Polar Sea. Yermac was overjoyed ; 
he could return to his plan of escape, and, this time, 
under much better conditions, thanks to Yegor’s 
absence. Only one thing clouded his elation and 
that was his inability to take back the fugitives with 
him. But he knew their route ; from Yakoutsk, by 
employing the government couriers, it was possible 
to spread the alarm over the entire coast of the Pacific 
Ocean bordering upon the Gulf of Anadju'. In the 
spring, Yégor and his companions would reach this 
locality only to be captured. 

The guides, to whom Yermac related in his own 
fashion the abduction of Nadège and little Ladislas, 
and the departure of Yègor Sémènoff and M. Lafleur 
in search of them, thought that their employers would 
never find their way back to their hut, or that, finding 
themselves brought by their pursuit nearer the Pacific 
than the Arctic Ocean, they would not retrace their 
steps. They seemed, therefore, to consent easily enough 
to what the chief of police desired. They, however, 
demanded three or four da3\s to reach a final decision ; 
this time, besides, was necessary to rest the dogs. 

Yermac, on the point of realizing his hopes, resolved 
to utilize these few days. He brought away from the 
whaler, with the aid of a narta drawn by several dogs, 


XaE EXILES. 


309 


which were replaced by others on completing each 
trip, everything that had a commercial value if taken 
to Nijni-Kolimsk, especially the powder, the liarpoons 
and the arms. Afterwards, he caused to be buried 
near the spot where his son reposed the bones gath- 
ered up here and there on the deck and in the between- 
decks of the vessel, thus carrying out Yegor’s pious 
intentions. 


310 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XXXII. 


NADÈGE AMONG THE TCHOUKTCHIS. 
HUNDRED leagues to the east of the Bay of 



.jlX. Tchaoiinsk is situated the Bay of Kolioutchine, 
where the Véga wintered from the 27th of September, 
1878, until the 18th of July of the following year. 

Everybody now knows the surprising history of the 
expedition commanded by Nordenskiold, the result of 
which was the revelation of the existence of a north- 
east passage. It is certainly the greatest geographical 
achievement since the discovery of America. 

It is known by all how the Swedish savant, after 
several voyages of exploration to the north of Russia 
and Siberia, succeeded in reaching Behring’s Strait and 
the great ocean, thus demonstrating the truth of a very 
ingenious hypothesis, namely : that along the coast 
of Siberia was a navigable channel, caused by the 
abundant warm waters discharged during the summer 
by the vast Asiatic rivers. 

Nordenskiold, while wintering ten months in the 
Bay of Kolioutchine, lived among the Tchouktchis, a 
people very little known now, long feared by the other 
Siberian tribes with whom they came in contact, and 
whose reputation for ferocity has, n0 doubt, been 
greatly exaggerated. 


THE EXILES. 


311 


The illustrious Swedish traveller was not the first to 
penetrate into the Tchouktchi peninsula. In 1823, 
Lieutenant Wrangel, of the Russian navy, since admi- 
ral, went as far as the Island of Kolioutchine, and even 
before the Russian navigator, the celebrated Cook had, 
in 1778, discovered North Cape (Nordenskiold’s Cape 
Irkaïpi) and the Island of Kolioutchine which he 
named Burney’s Island. In 1791, Captain Billings, 
after having disembarked on the shore of the Bay of 
Saint-Laurent in the Sea of Okhotsk, went by land to 
the Bay of Kolioutchine and then to Cape Chélagsk. 

It was from the accounts of Wrangel and his lieuten- 
ants Matiouchkine and Kozmine, as well as from what 
he knew of the expeditions of Billings and some others 
less known, such as the merchant Chalaouroff, of 
Yakoutsk, and Captain SaritchefP, that Yégor had fixed 
upon his route. He was not ignorant of the fact that 
the Tchouktchis were a people to be feared and to be 
looked out for, but never had the terrible possibility of 
an abduction with armed hand of Davidoff's daughter 
entered among his apprehensions. 

The unfortunate Nadège, confined in the double 
tent of the chief of a tribe established to the south of the 
Bay of Kolioutchine, now no longer hoped for deliver- 
ance if it were not effected by the intelligence and 
courage of her adopted brother. 

Ladislas, without being forced to do so, had followed 
her, hoping to be able to protect and be useful. to her. 
The young girl’s abductors numbered seven. Among 


812 


THE EXILES. 


them was the old Tchouktchi who had asked hospi- 
tality of the exiles a few days before. 

They were commanded by a young chief established 
temporaril}" at the Bay of Tchaounsk, but whose peima- 
nent fishing quarters were at the Bay of Kolioutchiiie. 

The Tchouktchi kamakay, finding himself much too 
near the wintering place of the white men from the 
west, gave the signal for departure and was followed 
by all those belonging to his tribe, the richest taking 
with them their slaves, descendants, doubtless, of former 
prisoners of war. 

Nadège, treated at first with some consideration, 
made this new journey in a well covered narta, having 
beside her her dear Ladislas, whom she pressed to her 
bosom as if she feared they would snatch him from her. 
Numerous dogs drew the narta, excited by a slave who 
ran on foot beside the vehicle. As the tribe advanced 
towards the east, Ladislas, whose intention from the 
first had been to steal away and return to the hut 
to inform Yégor of the route taken by Nadôge’s 
abductors, saw with terror the lengthening of the road 
he would have to pass over to carry out his plan. 

He wished to quit Nadège, but she retained him, 
explaining to him that, while there was still uncer- 
tainty about the locality to which she was being taken, 
he ought not to abandon her. If he departed at once, 
how could he inform Yégor? Better would it be for 
him to remain with her, depending upon the devotion 
and activity of her betrothed to find them. 


THE EXILES. 


31S 


On leaving Cape Chélagsk, the coast was seen to be 
covered with villnges composed of a dozen tents each 
and, sometimes, of even less. These were settlements 
of the fixed Tchouktchis, who dwell upon the borders 
of the sea and are distinct from the nomads or reindeer 
Tchouktchis. 

Their tents were formed of poles or whale ribs 
covered with reindeer skin. Nadège noticed that 
these cone shaped habitations bulged out towards the 
north, but were flat on the opposite side. On this side 
was a low oj)ening which served as a door and was 
closed by a skin curtain. A second opening at the top 
of each tent gave passage to the smoke. 

Finally, they arrived at the Ba}" of Kolioutchine, 
where was already a portion of the tribe. There, 
Nadège and Ladislas were installed in the kamakay’s 
tent, which was larger and much more comfortable 
than the others. 

The chiefs first two wives were in this tent. These 
short statured shrews, with black eyes, long, braided 
hair and yellow-brown complexions, who bore a strong 
resemblance to the Esquimaux of Greenland, divining 
in Nadège a rival, overwhelmed her with work, mal- 
treated her and insulted her in every way. 

There was within and at the extremity of the first 
tent, upon a wooden platform about a foot high, a 
second tent of much smaller dimensions, a sort of 
alcove kept well heated by means of a lamp fed with 
20 


314 


THE EXIL-ES. 


seal oil. This second tent was the lodging place of 
the kamakay’s two wives. 

The latter forced Nadège to remain in the exterior 
tent, always very cold in spite of the fire for cooking 
purposes; yet the unfortunate young girl breathed 
there an atmosphere less vitiated than that of the 
alcove, in which the dark beauties of the Tchouktchi 
peninsula were somewhat too much at home. 

The roughest work, such as bringing snow to be 
melted for water for household use and gathering up 
along the coast drifted wood or, in default of that, 
moss, bones or whale ribs to feed the fire, fell to 
Nadège. The kamakay’s wives also occupied her in 
the construction of a kind of net, made of leather 
strings, to be employed in catching seals, or in the 
preparation of engines intended to capture wolves: 
these were pieces of whale whiskers bent double after 
their ends had been sharpened; the whisker thus 
prepared is sprinkled with water which is promptly 
converted into ice. Then the confining strings are cut, 
the ice sufQcing to solder together the two extremities 
of the whisker, and the whole is covered with grease. 
The wolf throws itself upon this bait and swallows it. 
The heat of its stomach melts the ice, the whale 
whisker springs out and its sharpened ends kill the 
animal. 

The kamakay strove to maintain harmony in his 
household by administering blows to his two wives. 
Not knowing any other language than his own, he had 


THE EXILES. 


315 


not yet succeeded in communicating to Nadège his 
projects in regard to her otherwise than by counting 
in English up to three, at the same time pointing in 
succession to his two wives. He thus gave her clearly 
to understand that he reserved for her the honor of 
becoming his third wife. 

“ One, two, three ! ” he frequently repeated to her, 
opening one after another three lingers of his left 
hand. 

Poor Nadège feigned not to comprehend — and com- 
prehended only too well. 

“ One, two, three ! ” resumed the kamakay, with 
his répertoire of gestures. Then, impatient at not 
advancing with greater rapidity in his marital affairs, 
he swallowed bumpers of American whisky and retired 
to the heated alcove. 

The kamakay had made the acquisition of a white 
reindeer, intended to be offered as a sacrifice by the 
tribe. This immolation was to take place on the first 
day of the new moon. Ladislas sometimes climbed 
upon the animal’s back, with a secret design that may 
be guessed, and rode it hither and thither. 

One evening, the barking of a dog was heard out- 
side the tent. Nadège and Ladislas recognized the 
bark of Wab, as the animal did not howl like the 
Siberian dogs. Davidoff’s daughter, full of hope and 
joy, thought that Yégor had at last arrived to deliver 
her. But no one appeared. The dog continued to 
bark in the night. 


316 


THK EXILES. 


Then Ladislas persuaded Nadège that the moment 
for him to flee had come. Mounted upon the white 
reindeer, he would put forth all his strength, following 
the sea as closely as possible, to reach Cape Baranoff 
and the winter hut. Wab would guide him. Perhaps, 
he would not have to go very far to find Yégor, for it 
was not to be supposed that the dog had come alone 
such a long distance ! 

Nadège, deceived in her expectation, consented to 
everything the cliild wished, and, that very night, after 
having supplied himself with several enormous pieces 
of reindeer meat cooked in seal fat, he ran after the 
reindeer intended to be sacrificed, which was wander- 
ing around the tents. He easily caught it, and rode 
away towards the west, preceded by Wab. 

The young Pole, gifted with extraordinary strength 
of will and possessing, besides, a robust constitution 
which permitted him to brave the rigors of the cold 
and all sorts of privations, was quite capable of 
successfully executing this mad enterprise of devotion. 


THE EXILES. 


m 


CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE FUGITIVES AND THE KAMAKAY. 

chief of police had induced the two Yakoute 
guides to consent to quit tfe winter hut and 
depart for Nijni-Koliinsk. Yermac- abandoned a por- 
tion of the provisions they liad brought, especially 
the fish intended to serve as food for the dogs, and 
caused the nartas to be loaded with large quantities 
of tobacco, sugar and gunpowder and some pieces of 
cloth, the whole coming from the whaler Hugo and 
Maria. 

Nevertheless, the guides had obtained a postpone- 
ment of the departure for a few days ; they had now 
no reason whatever to urge for a further adjourn- 
ment. Besides, Tekel and Chort had become con- 
vinced that their employers would not return to the 
hut. 

They, therefore, made no further resistance. 

The day for the departure arrived. 

It was a line winter day, entirely clear, not too cold, 
and, in fact, all that travellers in such desolate regions 
could wish. 

Yermac was radiant with satisfaction: at last he 
was about to resume in regard to the fugitives all his 
advantages ! His final orders given, he paid a farewell 
visit to his son’s grave. 


318 


THE EXILES. 


But when he returned what was his surprise ! Little 
Ladislas was there ! The child, already informed by 
the Yakoutes of the impending abandonment of the 
hut, had immediately commanded them in the name of 
Yégor Séménoff not to obey Yermac. He feigned that 
Yégor had sent them orders by him to rejoin him with 
the nartas at the Bay of Kolioutchine, bringing with 
them the chief of police, peaceably or forcibly. 

It was in vain that Yermac, seeing all his trouble 
about to come to naught, strove to resist. He was 
obliged to yield. The dogs of the nartas, already 
turned in the direction of the west, were brought 
around towards the east. The loads of the sledges 
were judiciously kept as they were by the little Pole, 
who thought that the tobacco and powder would be 
valuable articles of exchange. He added only a few 
light garments belonging to Nadège and several objects 
by which she set great store, not forgetting the manu- 
script of Davidoff’s last poems. 

The white reindeer was abandoned, a trifle foundered 
it is true, but out of all danger of being sacrificed by 
the Tchouktchis. 

The nartas started on the journey. Wab once more 
seemed to wish to act as guide. It was necessary, in 
the first place, according to Ladislas’ account, to reach 
the Bay of Tchaounsk, without going too far from the 
coast. Then, with the aid of the dog, they would, 
perhaps, find the tracks of Yégor and M. Lafleur. 

Nadège, unhappier than ever since the disappearance 


THE EXILES. 


319 


of Ladislas and the white reindeer, was subjected to 
all kinds of ill treatment. She passed her days over- 
whelmed with the most repulsive tasks, and her nights 
in tears. She suffered from hunger and cold, disgusted 
by the unsavory food offered her and refusing to take 
a place in the common alcove. Night and day she 
remained in the exterior tent, where the cold made 
itself terribly felt. The poor girl saw herself wasting 
away and thought that nothing but death could end 
her woes. 

One morning, the daughter of the poet Davidoff, 
become the servant of a savage with the near prospect 
of being his wife, was cooking reindeer meat in a cast 
iron pot, placed over the fire in the centre of the little 
circle of stones forming the hearth in the midst of the 
tent. While she watched the boiling, with her delicate 
hands she emptied the intestines of the animal, to 
obtain from them and put aside as delicacies certain 
green particles resembling minced spinach. 

She was aided in her toil by a greasy and ill-smelling 
old domestic, who suffered from very acute pains in 
her left side and back. The old woman at length 
drew her long jacket over her head and, seating her- 
self on the ground before the young girl, begged her 
by gestures to rub the affected parts of her- body. The 
tawny skin of the invalid could not be seen for a thick 
coating of filth. Nadège was forced to comply with 
her request, while serving the breakfast to the three 
principal persons of the tent, the kamakay and his two 


320 


THE EXILES. 


wives, whose heads and breasts alone' protruded from 
the hangings of the alcove, the rest of their bodies, 
very thinly clad, remaining within. 

This breakfast was composed of raw seal liver, a bowl 
of blood, yet warm and smoking, from the same animal, 
and a dish of sour-crout made of fermented willow 
leaves. 

One of the wives, the least tattooed, whose name was 
Nuketou — the other was called Kokeijabin — was quiet- 
ing with a resonant Ah-la-Yah ! ” a weeping infant at 
her breast. 

While eating the polar sour-crout, she washed its 
face by licking it — precisely as does an animal. 

Three warriors, armed with pikes pointed with 
walrus tusks, were present as visitors. Seated on the 
ground upon skins, they exchanged with the inhabi- 
tants of the alcove their reflections on the tall white 
stranger with flaxen hair. 

In a corner, a second servant — a slave — with arms 
bare and red with blood to the shoulders, was engaged 
in cutting slices of seal flesh. 

Near her, another woman — a neighbor, perhaps — was 
chewing a reindeer skin to give it pliancy and render 
it fit for the manufacture of boots and gloves. 

Beside the platform, dozed a slut surrounded by a 
litter of pups, the plaintive cries of which mingled 
harmoniously with the howls of the frightful infant the 
wife of the chief was consoling. 

The snow was falling without, stifling every sound 


THE E X I I. E s . 


321 


and scattering occasional flakes abont the hearth 
through the opening at the top of the tent. The 
snow intercepted the light to such an extent that the 
flames of tlje hearth illuminated with ruddy reflections 
the lofty interior of the habitation. 

A host of things — utensils, dishes and clothes — 
encumbered tlie tent more than they furnished or 
adorned it. They were, to enumerate them more 
particularly in the disorder in which eveiything pre- 
sented itself confusedly to the sight: a huge leather 
net, different fishing engines, the inevitable drum of 
Ihe chamans, wooden plates scattered a little every- 
where, a pail and troughs also of wood, pipes, iron 
knives and a hatchet, some stone tools recalling those 
of the primitive ages of humanity, two or three copper 
coffee-pots of American importation, a wolfs skull 
suspended by a strap (without doubt, some amulet), 
and two seal-skin bags, veritable leather bottles having 
preserved the shape of the animal and containing an 
ample supply of seal oil ; thrown over ropes were some 
summer garments, very light and impermeable, made 
of walrus intestines ; suspended from the poles 
blackened by the smoke which formed the framework 
of the tent, and extending from one to another, 
were strings of dried fish and slices of seal fat; in 
another place were beaver skins from America and the 
fur of red and white foxes, all of which were destined 
to figure at the fair of Irbit or that of Ostrovoyé ; in a 
corner was a leather boat, like the kayak of the Esqui- 


322 


THE EXILES. 


maux; in another corner lay a quantity of reindeer 
antlers still fixed to the frontal bones ; and here and 
there were huge^ logs of drift wood, driven into the 
ground to serve as seats. 

After breakfast, the kamakay, whose name was 
Tchikine, summoned the slut to him by whistling and 
placed about its neck, as a sacrifice to the spirit of 
evil, a garland of dried moss. 

At this moment, from the round hole at the top of 
the tent, some one — a visitor — spat upon the hearth. 
All present raised their heads, even Nadège, who was 
becoming familiar with the manners and customs of the 
locality. 

The kamakay uttered an invitation to enter, and the 
visitor, who had not seen from without the low door- 
way, masked as it was by the snow, descended without 
ceremony through the chimney, sliding down one of 
the poles. He fell at the feet of Nadège, who recog- 
nized in the intruder — Tekel ! 

The young girl uttered a cry of surprise and joy 

“And Yégor Séménolî?” demanded she, precipi- 
tately. 

“ He is here,” answered the guide, “with M. Lafleur, 
the lad and the chief of police ! ” 

“Is it possible I ” exclaimed Nadège. 

What do you want ? ” said the kamakay to Tékel, 
astonished at this conversation in a language he did not 
understand between the young girl and the intruder. 

“What do I want?” said Tékel, in the tongue of 


TUE EXILES. 


323 


the Tchouktchis ; “ you shall know immediately. 

Where is the door?” 

Nadège had already removed from the entrance to 
the tent the reindeer skin which closed it. Without, 
some one had cleared away the snow which obstructed 
the doorway. The little Pole entered first and threw 
himself upon the young girl’s neck. 

Then the kamakay saw in this invasion of his domi- 
cile some trouble for himself. He grasped his batase 
(a long iron blade fixed in the end of a rod) and 
advanced towards the meddlesome visitors. The three 
warriors present, seeing him on the defensive, left their 
places and ranged themselves behind him. 

Yégor, M. Lafleur and Yermac penetrated succes- 
sively into the tent. Yégor saw only the poor Nadège 
weeping with joy and clasped her warmly to his bosom. 
M. Lafleur went straight to the kamakay, in whom he 
inspired respect by his decided attitude. The Parisian 
drew his pistols from his belt, and, preparing himself at 
need to sustain an attack, told the guide to explain to 
the chief the reason of their presence. 

While they separated Wab from the slut with the 
garland of dry moss, which the animal had seized by 
the neck, thus prematurely beginning hostilities, Tékel 
announced to the kamakay that he had before him the 
relatives and friends of the young Russian girl ab- 
ducted from Cape Baranoff, and that he would do well 
to give her up without resistance. 

“ But I want her for my third wife,” objected the 
kamakay. 


324 


THE EXILES. 


“ There is the man who is going to marry her,” said 
the Yakoute, pointing to Yégor. 

The kamakay cast at tlie latter a look of defiance; 
then he took a position like a warrior who is ready to 
sustain his acts with arms in his hands. 

“ I could kill him like a dog,” said Yégor, seizing one 
of his pistols, “but I wish to do him the honor of 
accepting his challenge. Tell him to advance,” added 
he, addressing the guide. 

“Advance, if you have the courage!” said the 
Yakoute to the chief of the Tchouktchis. 

The kamakay took two steps backwards — he recoiled 
that he might the better advance — manipulating his 
batase so that he might fall on Yégor and thrust the 
blade of his weapon into his stomach. 

Nadège, quick as lightning, turned aside the blow by 
grasping the handle of the arm, while Tégor resolutely 
took aim at his adversary. 

But Yerraac interfered. Pushing awa}^ Yégor’s 
pistol, he placed himself between him and the native 
chief. 

PYom the moment the chief of police had been con- 
strained to follow Ladislas and the two Yakoute guides 
through the country of the Tchouktchis, he had lived 
under the dominion of this thought: would it not be 
possible to utilize the relations, existing between the 
chiefs of the native tribes of the peninsula and the 
Kiissian government, to obtain the arrest of the fugi- 
tives and their detention until he should be prepared 
to take them back to Yakoutsk? 


THE EXILES. 


325 


He had come to believe that tliis was feasible. In 
consequence, he was about to use the authorit}" of the 
Czar, more nominal than real, at first, for the benefit 
of Yegor and his com[)anions. If he succeeded, the 
fugitives would afterwards be at liis discretion. 

Such Avere the reasons for his interference. 

Wlien the two adversaries became in a measure 
calm, Yermac, with the aid of the Y^akoute interpreter, 
declared to the kamakay that the Russian law pro- 
hibited the subjects of the Czar from liaving more than 
one wife, and that, besides, the violent act of which he 
liad been guilty in abducting the young girl whom they 
had found in his tent was liable to severe punishment. 

The kamakay shrugged his shoulders. 

Yermac spoke of the authority of the white Czar, of 
the son of tiie sun, Avithout making any impression 
on the savage. He kneAV that there existed at the 
extremity of the Avorld, away off toAvards the Avest, a 
great village — Yakoutsk — Avhere a very powerful chief 
resided. His political knoAvledge Avas limited to that 
vague notion. He kneAV further that bej'ond the sea, 
to the east, Avhisky merchants, trappers and Avhale 
fishermen — the Americans — possessed rich settlements. 
As to hiAVs, he only knew of those Avhich had emanated 
from himself and Ids ancestors, and Avere made for the 
benefit of the tribe over Avhich he ruled despotically. 

After his first attempt, Yermac comprehended that 
he could obtain no assistance from the kamakay. How- 
ever, as it was important to him, as the future might 


326 


THE EXILES. 


offer him some more favorable chance, that Nadège 
should not remain in the hands of this petty savage 
king, he loudly demanded that she should be restored 
to her betrothed. 

This demand was made in vain. Then the chief of 
police undertook — still with the aid of the interpreter 
— to obtain the young girl in exchange for certain 
objects capable of tempting^ the curiosity, vanity or 
cupidity of the native chief. 

Yégor had immediately approved of this plan, and a 
gun, two pistols with their munitions, rouble notes to 
a very large amount and the charms of Yégor's watch 
chain were successively offered and refused. The 
kamakay Tchikine obstinately persisted in his design 
to keep the young white girl, whom he Avished to make 
the most beautiful ornament of his throne. 

The situation grew embarrassing. Nadège was now 
shedding tears which were no longer tears of joy. 
Soon she began to utter heart-rending cries, and it 
Avas a most affecting spectacle to see the despair of 
the beautiful young girl, threatened with remaining in 
the power of the frightful kamakay, with flat nose, 
tawny skin and greasy with seal oil. 

“Take me away!” cried she to Yégor and M. 
Lafleur — “ or kill me rather than abandon me I ” 

Yégor Avas thinking of a resort to extreme measures. 
It could be seen from his Avild and menacing eyes that 
he Avas ready to do anything, rather than leave his 
betrothed in the hands of this savage. 


THE EXILES. 


327 


• Suddenly, M. Lafleur, who feared some bloody scene, 
had an inspiration. He took down the drum of the 
sorcerers and, assuming the inspired air of a chaman, 
began to beat upon it with all his might. ^ 

“ A chaman ! ” said the two wives of the kamakay, 
Nuketou and Kokerjabin. 

“ A chaman ! ” exclaimed the three warriors of the 
tribe, silent until then. 

“A chaman!” shouted the Yakoute, immediately 
comprehending the intention of the dancing-master. 

The kamakay, tawny as he was, had grown pale at 
the first sounds of the drum of the sorcerers, beaten 
by the stranger with unusual dexterity. This med- 
dling with his affairs by a being gifted with super- 
natural powers troubled him. 

When he had made a tremendous noise on the rein- 
deer skin of the drum of the chamans, which he used 
like- a tambourine, beating it with his fist, his elbows, 
his knees and his forehead to the great astonishment of 
the natives, M. Lafleur drew from beneath his fur gar- 
ments his beloved pocket violin, which he had never 
abandoned, even when reduced to the most cruel 
extremities. 

Taking advantage of the astonishment of the 
Tchouktchis at the sight of this instrument, which 
seemed to have emerged from his breast as from a 
violin box, he executed tr^imolos of his own composi- 
tion, rapid, fantastic and irresistible. 

The slut began to howl, and soon its young ones 


328 


T H K EXILES. 


joined in with their barking. Nuketou sat down on 
the ground, hiding her infant and seeming to implore 
pardon for it and herself. The other wife of the kam- 
akay imitated her supplicating gestures. These two 
wretched creatures saw already the anger of some 
great spirit — Tornasul or some other superior being — 
punishing them on account of the stranger whom their 
husband had wished to give them for a companion and 
a rival. 

“What do they want?” asked the Parisian of 
Tekel, without ceasing to play. 

“They are asking for mere}",” answered the guide. 

“ Let them address themselves to the kamakay.” 

Tekel translated these words by an expressive sign. 
Then, the women clung to Tchikine, fully resolved, it 
seemed, not to release him until they had obtained his 
consent to what the white men demanded of him : the 
restitution of the girl with flaxen hair. 

But the kamakay was firm. Fearing that he might 
weaken, he left the tent, taking with him the three 
warriors and uttering menacing words. 


THE EXILES. 


329 


CHAPTER XXXIV. 

SAFE AT LAST. 

T his was a commencement of success for M. 
Lafleur. 

He took breath. 

Then the fugitives looked around them, examining 
with curiosity this horrible place, repulsive in its filth, 
where Nadège had lived for several weeks. Of its 
ordinary inhabitants there now remained only the two 
wives of the native chief and the two female slaves, all 
of whom were completely subjugated by the power of 
the foreign chaman, who was superior to every other 
chaman. 

These chamans or sorcerers, feared and respected by 
the Tchouktchis, are ordinarily recruited from among 
feeble-minded 3^oung people, to whom the aged have 
related so many of those mysterious and terrible 
things, which form the foundation of popular belief, 
that one day their reason entirely forsakes them. The 
long hours of solitude, the excessive cold and the fre- 
quent hunger have also, it is believed, a real influence 
over certain nervous organizations, which they derange, 
and it is in perfect good faith and without the least 
idea of trickery that the new chamans, without other 
consecration than their declared lunac}", take possession 
21 


330 


THE EXILES. 


of a spiritual, almost sacerdotal, rôle, in a country 
given to idolatry, though traces of Christianity are 
encountered there. These traces are even numerous, 
but altogether on the surface. 

Of the last-mentioned fact the fugitives promptly 
had proof. The kamakay had scarcely gone when a 
native entered the tent, drawn thither by the announce- 
ment of the presence of a chaman. 

He was an aged man, who was distinguished from 
the other natives by a sort of elegance in his attire. 
He wore suspended from his neck, over his hairy 
koukhlyanka, two images and four crosses. Upon his 
breast were spread out two certificates enclosed between 
two little boards, and the fugitives immediately learned 
from his wordy declarations that one of these papers 
attested the baptism of himself and his three sons. 
The other, which he had received from a powerful 
chief — he did not know it was the Czar — was a kamley 
in red cloth sent in acknowledgment of the receipt of 
a present of the fur of a polar fox. 

To thoroughly establish his orthodoxy, he made 
while speaking numerous signs of the cross. The 
Parisian promised himself to make of Annawa — such 
was the name of this old native — a useful auxiliary 
for the deliverance of Nadège. 

He commenced by instructing Tékel to inform him 
that they intended to remain in the chiefs tent as 
long as they were obliged to stay in the country. 
It was then March and the fugitives, who could uot 


THE EXILES. 


331 


think of retracing their steps to resume possession 
of their hut at Cape Baranoff, had no other resource 
than to gain time. As soon as the days grew longer 
and less cold, they would plunge into the interior of 
the Tchouktchi peninsula. It was necessary for them 
to gain the shores of the Aniouy, then, by ascending 
towards the sources of that river, across a mountainous 
district, to reach the Anadyr and descend that stream 
towards Behring’s Strait. 

The kamakay’s tent, despite the terrible stench 
which came from the alcove, was, without doubt, the 
most comfortable habitation of the region. 

To take possession of it, by the power of the occult 
sciences, would be a masterstroke. The Parisian, 
followed by the old man, who continued his signs 
of the cross, went three times around the tent, beating 
the magic drum. After this, he declared to the amazed 
native that whoever should try to enter the tent with- 
out his permission would be stricken with death at the 
new moon. 

During this singular ceremoii}', Nuketou and Koker- 
jabin, aided by the two slaves, gathered together what 
they wished to carry away, and Nadège saw those 
cruel women, who had caused her so much suffering, 
hastily flee to escape the maledictions which were 
sliowering down without at the conjurations of the 
chaman. 

After a cleaning out in which each one took part, 
the fugitives established themselves as best they could 


332 


THE EXILES. 


ill the kamakay’s tent. They kept their loaded 
weapons near them in case of an offensive return. 
Tékel and Chort succeeded each other as sentinels 
night and day. Wab also was on guard. When 
Yégor and M. Lafleur ventured out-of-doors, they went 
armed to the teeth. 

But the fugitives felt themselves seriously menaced 
by the hostile attitude of the entire tribe. They saw 
sombre and irritated faces ; the natives to whom they 
addressed a few words of politeness, learned from 
Tékel, did not reply, silence among them showing the 
height of discontent, as a flow of words is the effect of 
anger among the French. 

Soon the Parisian learned from Annawa, who was 
very loquacious, that the natives intended to reduce 
the intruders by hunger. 

The pretended chaman then resolved to deal a terri- 
ble blow. Aided by Annawa, he fomented an insurrec- 
tion against the kamakay, and succeeded in ranging 
more than half the warriors on the side of the spirit of 
which he announced the manifestations. 

This bold attempt was destined to have cruel conse- 
quences for the kamakay. The terrible chaman ordered 
the sacrifice of three white reindeer, and, as the flames 
devoured the victims, he pronounced the dethronement 
of the chief and condemned him to exile. 

M. Lafleur chose Annawa to succeed the kamakay, 
that abductor of young girls. This was too clever 
a stroke of policy not to be crowned with complete 
success. 


TUE EXILES. 


333 


From the day following this solemn sacrifice, Tchi- 
kine was no longer mentioned. He had accepted his 
dethronement and fled from his tribe, without even 
having the power to take his wives and two slaves 
with him. 

“ It was an act of justice,” murmured Yermac. 
“ What was the fool thinking of, who knew not even 
that he was a subject of the Czar and as such amenable 
to the laws of the empire ? ” 

The chief of police wished first to convert to his 
ideas and then to his uses the new kamakay, a Chris- 
tian and honored with an imperial certificate, but 
M. Lafleur looked after this, and, as Tékel alone could 
serve as interpreter, Yermac was deprived of the new 
resource which had presented itself to his fertile mind. 

The moment came at last when they could resume 
their journey. It was with heartfelt joy that Yégor, 
with Davidoffs charming daughter beside him in one 
of the nartas, quitted the tent where he had come to 
seek her, with death in his soul, when, rejoined by 
Ladislas, the guides and Yermac, he had learned in 
what spot the innocent girl was groaning and calling 
on him for helj). 

It was necessary to find the course of the Aniouy, 
which was not easy because of the small knowledge of 
the country possessed by the guides. 

They went at first through pitiful looking forests. 
New moss was commencing to shoot up through the 
marshy soil. Upon the hills flocks of marsh birds 
were already showing themselves. 


334 


THE EXILES. 


They reached some deserted camps of Tchouktchi 
nomads, recognizable mainly by the black traces of 
the dimokours formed of grass and moss, which are set 
on fire in the summer to drive away, by the smoke 
they spread around, the myriads of mosquitoes which 
torment men and animals during the warm season. • 

In the larch thickets, the travellers chose the spots 
where the trees were the most scattered and, at other 
times, took the reindeer paths, for they were now in 
the region of the reindeer Tchouktchis. On the bank 
of a river they saw a number of traps for zibellines 
and foxes, traps which seemed to be abandoned. A 
little further on, they discovered on the shore of a 
torrent an enormous mammoth tusk, weighing at least 
fifty kilogrammes. It was so solidly enclosed in the 
ice that they could not loosen it. 

Beyond the forest stretched out a vast marshy plain, 
which seemed to have been wooded. 

The dogs advanced toilsomely amid new-fallen snow, 
still soft or half melted by the heat of the sun, and the 
everlasting ice of which the soil was formed. 

In the evening, the fugitives camped where they 
found themselves. Nadège and Ladislas always had 
their pologue erected. The men slept in the nartas 
or on the snow. 

In this concluding portion of their journey were 
reproduced for Yégor and his companions, with less 
intensity, however, all the dangers, all the suffering 
and all the fatigues which had already marked its 


THE EXILES. 


335 


course : cold, elemental war, privations and attacks of 
famished beasts. 

But the days had lengthened. With the spring the 
birds had reappeared. The reindeer, quitting the 
forests, returned to the sea coast to get rid of the mos- 
quitoes. New plants offered some resources; among 
others, the saxifrages and the gentians were already 
shooting up. 

The snow seemed, here and there, veined with 
blood, made rusty looking by the lichens, or shaded 
with green and yellow by a host of rudimentary 
cr^^ptogamous plants. The roots of the creeping wil- 
low made a very good seasoning for the reindeer meat; 
the mice burrows furnished the farinaceous root of the 
makarcha, and, to replace the tea consumed to the last 
leaf, the fugitives gathered a certain moss from the 
green granite which they mixed with a sort of aro- 
matic fern. 

The chase had again become possible, and they were 
able, especially, to hunt the wild sheep and the rein- 
deer. After having broken the icy crust of the rivers, 
they threw in their net and caught in abundance the 
sturgeon, the mouksoune, the nelma and the tchir, all 
large fish belonging to the trout and salmon families. 

One morning at daybreak, resounding cries awoke 
the sleepers in the open air. These cries came from a 
great flock of geese that had settled down upon the 
surface of a half- thawed pond. Yégor, M. Lafleur 
and the Yakoutes armed themselves with sticks and 


336 


THE EXILES. 


surrounded the pond. Wab, plunging amid the water 
and ice, spread disorder among the geese which fled to 
the bank, where the hunters killed thirty in a few 
instants. The Yakoutes displayed remarkable address 
in handling their sticks. 

Yermac looked on and smiled. Since the nartas, 
loaded with supplies from the Hugo and Maria, had 
furnished resources for the daily nourishment, the 
chief of police, who counted on the indemnification of 
the owners of the whaler, had not hesitated to accept 
his share of the food. He showed himself, besides, a 
skilful fisherman and excelled in the preparation of 
fish soup. 

A few days afterwards, the fugitives killed, also Avith 
sticks, a dozen swans. These birds moult later than 
geese. 

They met a herd of reindeer which allowed them to 
approach it. This led them to believe that the rein- 
deer were private property. They Avere right. The 
Tchouktchis to whom the animals belonged had, 
doubtless, hidden themselves on perceiving the little 
caravan of white people. 

They crossed Avith infinite trouble and great danger 
the mountainous region leading to the sources of the 
Anadyr. The country had the Avildest possible look. 

Threatening rocks rose perpendicularly along deep 
valleys; the tempestuous Avind, driven into the bogs 
and ravines, whirled about there and escaped with a 
hiss, rendering the passage of the defiles toilsome and 
perilous. 


THE EXILES. 


337 


Sometimes, they were forced to quit the sledges and 
walk beside them along steep paths on the edges of 
precipices, into which the least false step would have 
sufficed to precipitate them. The dogs had great 
' difficulty in advancing. 

, Happily for the travellers, the snow covered the 
slopes and prevented them from slipping. At other 
times, thick fogs suddenly surrounded them, shutting 
off the sight of their road, until the summit upon which 
they happened to be seemed like an island rising from 
the midst of an agitated sea. 

Finally, they reached the Anadyr, which flows, 
parallel to the chain of mountains cutting the Tchouk- 
tchi peninsula, from north to south and afterwards to 
the north-east. They followed the banks of this river, 
and, many times, had occasion to use, to cross the 
broad streams which flow into it, the light skin boat 
which they had with them, the materials of which 
had been brought from the hut on Cape Baranoff by 
the Yakoutes. 

They halted for a few days at the mouth of the 
Krasnaïa, one of the affluents of the Anadyr, three 
hundred verstes from the sea. It was a spot favorable 
for hunting. Besides, the dogs had bleeding paws and 
required rest. 

When the fugitives resumed their journey, they 
arrived in less than ten days at the place where the 
Anadyr ceases to be a river and becomes the Bay of 
Onemène. 


338 


THE EXILES. 


It was now necessary for them to shun the ostrog of 
Anadyr. They went along the coast towards the 
south, advancing cautiously; they kept near enough to 
the sea to watch it and far enough from the shore 
to escape observation. 

The sea was yet encumbered with ice blocks. They 
would have to wait until all these frozen masses were 
in motion and the spaces of water had increased, 
before they could hope to see a sail. 

One day, from the summit of a lofty promontory the 
fugitives witnessed that immense breaking up of the 
ice, which is the grandest and most terrifying spectacle 
that one can imagine. The icebergs at first move 
laboriously from their places. Cracked by the thaw 
and mined by the sea, they crumble upon themselves 
with a great din. Others advance, turning about in 
the free waters already agitated by the wind from the 
main sea ; they have a menacing look with their sharp 
angled profiles and their tottering sloping summits. 

The last snow that has fallen, swept by the wind, 
arises in dust towards the sky which it darkens. From 
time to time, enormous blocks detach themselves from 
the principal masses, with a detonation like the dis- 
charge of several pieces of artillery. The foaming 
waves stimulate this work of disaggregation. The 
collision of the floating ice blocks is incessant; they 
hurl themselves one upon another, until the repeated 
shocks have reduced them to powder. Everything 
twists and sinks in an immense break up. 


THE EXILES. 


339 


This time, the sun sent forth warm rays which col- 
ored with pink shades the white sheet of snow and the 
blue surface of the ice. The bluish green waters, 
angered at their long impotence, rushed everywhere, 
striking, overturning, destroying, and inundating with 
foam the fields of ice. 

The old ice remained attached to the shore all along 
the Bay of Onemène, and the hummocks yet jutted far 
out into the sea ; but, on the main ocean, the blue of 
the waters rivalled the blue of the sky and the waves 
rolled their great arches from the Asiatic to the Ameri- 
can shore ; Behring’s Strait was open. 

In proportion as the sky and the sea lighted up, 
Yermac became more gloomy. He felt that the deci- 
sive hour when he would lose his prey was approaching, 
for there were moments when he imagined that he was 
following the fugitives ; he comprehended that, pitiless 
as he wished to be, he would have to display audacity 
and energy, and he was pained, in spite of all, for, 
amid sufferings borne in common, he had at last 
become attached to these unfortunates, who, strong in 
their innocence, were seeking to escape from degra- 
dation and infamy. The fugitives were awaiting a 
liberating ship; Yermac was also awaiting this siiip, 
but with the design of arresting them in their flight. 
Inexorable justice, which he personified so completely, 
ordained it and he would not shrink from the task 
imposed upon him, no matter how cruel it might be. 

The fugitives had established themselves at the 


340 


THE EXILES. 


extremity of a ravine, where, against a rock of red 
granite several hundred feet in height, they had hastily 
erected a hut in which to hide rather than live. Every 
moment not devoted to hunting in the surrounding 
larch forests, or to fishing on the banks of a brook 
which ran along the hollow of the ravine, they passed 
upon the promontories, occupied in watching the sea. 
Yermac did not fix his eyes on the agitated surfaces of 
the waves with less avidity than his companions. 

But June approached and no whalers. June passed; 
J uly came and still no-whalers ! 

Yégor, in despair, began to form projects more 
impracticable one than another : to ascend the Anadj^r, 
cross the mountains which occupy the region and 
descend towards the Sea of Okhotsk at the Gulf of 
Penjinsk; to go to the Aleutian Islands or, better, to 
Kamtchatka, and from there, following the example of 
the exile Beniowski, sail for Canton ; to go in a boat — 
the skin baydare — to the Spice Islands to pass from 
there to Russian America, as the Tchouktchis intrepidly 
do ; or, again, to wait for the return of the cold and 
cross in a sledge, still following the example of the 
Tchouktchis who trade in furs, the eighty-eight kilo- 
mètres which separate Asia from America, East Cape 
from Prince of Wales. 

Nadège and Ladislas thought all these means of 
safety, brought forth by a troubled mind, of but slight 
value. They would change the difficulties; that 
was all. 


THE EXILES. 


341 


Then commenced long and painful hours of discour- 
aging waiting. 

Although the clear mornings were cold on the bor- 
ders of the sea, Yégor quitted the camp before day to 
take a position upon a lofty rock. The sun had not 
yet risen, but the single white star of the east sparkled 
with less and less brilliancy in the orange yellow of the 
dawn, and the snowy mountains of the coast gradually 
assumed firmer outlines. 

When the sun displayed, between the distant peaks, 
a little segment of its golden disk, it caused to sparkle 
with a thousand lustres the frost crystals suspended 
from the birches of the coast and the dwarf trees of 
the shore by the mists of the night. But to these 
beauties of nature Yégor had become insensible. 

One morning, he had taken his betrothed with him. 
They were seated side by side, filled with sad thoughts. 
Suddenly, raising her head and looking in the direction 
where the steppe stretched towards the south, bounded 
only by mountains with dim outlines, Nadège cried : 

“ The mirage ! ” 

Yégor, gazing in the same direction, saw the full 
realization of the opium smoker’s fantastic dreams. 
The old chaman of the pole had touched the distant 
mountains with his wand, and from a blue lake lost in 
the distance had arisen the walls and domes of a mar- 
vellous city, an immense town of the lands of the sun. 
On the borders of the lake, masses of dark green foli- 
age, bathed by the water, were reflected upon its 


342 


THE EXILES. 


mirror-like surface, while a little further to the rear 
the white cupolas were encircled with gold by the first 
rays of the rising sun. 

Never was the illusion of summer amid the snows of 
winter, of life in death, more complete. 

Instinctively, Yégor turned and looked around him 
to assure himself that he was not dreaming. The 
astonishment of Nadège and himself was extreme. 

But when they again looked towards the south, the 
splendid blue lake and the imposing lines of the mirage 
confounded their reason anew by their supernatural 
beauty, and the tall minarets of the mosques, the lofty 
towers of^the palaces, seemed, by coming out in bolder 
relief, to protest against the supposition of a dream. 

Nevertheless, little by little, the magic apparition 
faded, then shone forth anew and, finally, vanished in 
a confused mass; from its ruins emerged two immense 
columns of pink marble, which gradually united tlieir 
curiously sculptured capitals, thus forming a gigantic 
portico — a vast gate of heaven, from which one might 
almost expect to see defile the brilliant cortege of the 
radiant inhabitants of a marvellous world. This por- 
tico, in its turn, sinking upon itself, became a fortress, 
with massive bastions, numerous embrasures and lofty, 
embattled towers, an impregnable refuge, the lines and 
shades of which were as natural as the reality itself 
could have been. 

Then, at last, all grew confused ; the mirage faded 
away. Then Yégor and Nadège again turned their 


THE EXILES. 


343 


eyes towards the sea and the coast. There, nothing 
was changed ; there, no mirage bewildered. 

“But,” suddenly said Nadège, breathlessly, “look — 
that is not an illusion — do you see ? ” 

“ Yes, I see,” stammered Yégor, turning pale from 
emotion ; “ it is a ship ! ” 

Nadège threw herself into Yégor’s arms. 

“Is it safety, Yégor, is it safety?” cried she, ex- 
citedly. 

“ It is safet}^ ! ” 

“ But — what if the ship should be sailing from us ? ” 

They watched it with anxious eyes. In a few 
minutes — how long they seemed ! — Yégor saià : 

“ I think I am not deceived. The ship is coming 
towards us. It is tacking to avoid the floating ice 
blocks which encumber the entrance to the Bay of 
Onemène. If it came straight on, it would only be 
delayed by a useless and dangerous struggle.” 

“ Ah ! this is, perhaps, the last day we shall pass 
upon this shore, Yégorî But what if it should be an 
enemy — a Russian vessel ? ” 

“Let us hope for the best!” answered Yegor. His 
voice trembled, for he also entertained the fear felt 
by Nadège. 

“ When shall we know what fate is in reserve for 
us ? ” asked Nadège. 

“This evening, to-night or to-morrow morning at the 
latest, according to the difficulty of the navigation 
amid the. ice. I will go to the ship in the baydare.” 


344 


THE EXILES. 


“ But if they should keep you — a prisoner — lost to 
me, to us ? ” 

“ Reassure yourself, Nadège. Y’ou look at every- 
thing in the worst light.” 

“No ; I do not wish you to leave me : I will go with 
you. We will take the emeralds and offer them for 
our ransom.” 

“ Go with me — in the baydare, a boat that the small- 
est shock might send to the bottom ? ” 

“ I have shown enough courage heretofore to warrant 
you in trusting me at the last moment. On seeing 
both of us, perhaps, they may be touched by our so 
little merited misfortune.” 

“I wdll go alone, Nadège; that I am fully resolved 
upon,” said Yégor, firmly. 

“ You would expose yourself too much by doing that, 
Yégor,” said M. Lafleur, who had advanced sufficiently 
to hear the conversation between the two young 
people. “ I will go on board the ship I ” 

“You!” cried Yégor and Nadège, in one voice. 

“ Certainly. I have nothing to fear. Am I not a 
Frenchman ? I will make a reconnoissance.” 

“ This will be, I hope, the last service that we shall 
receive from you, my dear Monsieur Lafleur,” said 
Yégor, grasping the Parisian’s hand. 

“ The last service ! ” responded the latter, in a tone 
of protest. “ Ah ! I hope not I ” 

Yégor wished M. Lafleur to take Nadège back to the 
hut, in order that she might rest from her excitement 


THE EXILES. 


345 


and prepare herself for whatever might happen. As to 
him, he would remain at his post of observation. In 
the evening, Nadège and M. Lafleur were compelled to 
come and tear him away from it. The ship was moored 
to an ice field, as near as possible to the shore of the 
bay. 

The next day, at dawn, M. Lafleur and Tékel, draw- 
ing the baydare over the ice along the coast, advanced 
towards the vessel. When openings in the ice field 
presented themselves, the baydare was set afloat and 
did its office. M. Lafleur, on quitting the hut, had 
been much surprised to miss Yermac, whom he wished 
to make a last effort to persuade to abandon at the 
same time both Russia and the disagreeable vocation 
he followed. 

Although not a sailor, M. Lafleur, on approaching 
the ship, very quickly recognized its nationality. It 
was an Austrian vessel. 

He reached the ship with his baydare, skilfully 
handled by Tékel. The first face he saw on board was 
that of the chief of police. 

Y^ermac had, in fact, decided that the fugitives 
should be baffled, and had gone to inform the captain 
of the foreign vessel of his situation and that of the 
exiles. He finished by demanding his aid. 

To reach the ship, the chief of police had been com- 
pelled to make, in the midst of the night, long wind- 
ings about the broken ice fields. In the morning, he 
hailed the ship a short distance away and a boat was 
22 


341S 


THE EXILES. 


sent to meet him, which twenty times was nearly 
crushed by the ice blocks. M. Lafleur found the 
captain informed of everything. 

This captain, who had nothing veiy terrible about 
him, was a young man, full of fire, of Russian nation- 
ality but commanding an Austrian ship from the port 
of Trieste, sent to Behring’s Strait to meet Nordenski- 
old by some ship-owners of that city. , These ship- 
owners, knowing, thanks to the letters of the Swedish 
navigator which had reached Europe through some 
Tchouktchis and the Siberian posts, the happy result 
of a voyage which opened to commerce all the rivers of 
Siberia and immense beds of ivory in the Archipelago 
of Lyakhoff, had decided to choose without loss of time 
some point on the coast of Behring’s Strait for the 
establishment of a commercial depot, a maritime 
station, where whale oil could also be manufactured. 

The first paragraph of the instructions of the captain 
of the Austrian ship directed him to meet the illustri- 
ous navigator when he quitted the strait, where he. had 
wintered since the 27th of September of the preceding 
year, blocked in by the ice; had he been only a few 
hours earlier, he could have passed through the strait 
in open water. 

Meanwhile, Y()gor and Nadège, who also had noticed 
the absence of the chief of police, began to be seriously 
disturbed. Seated upon the shore, they watched with 
terrible anxiety for the return of M. Lafleur. Ladislas 
was beside them. When they saw that the Parisian 


THE EXILES. 


347 


was returning to land in a boat manned by a number 
of sailors, which made a turn to follow a narrow chan- 
nel open in the ice, they knew not whether to consider 
themselves saved or irrevocably lost. 

M. Lafleur leaped ashore — or rather leaped on the 
ice — and ran to them. 

“ Well?” said Nadège, with eyes full of tears. , 

“Saved!” cried M. Lafleur. “But no thanks to 
Yermac ! ” 

“ We thought as much ! ” murmured Yégor. 

“ The traitor went to denounce us last night.” 

“ The wretch ! ” exclaimed Nadège. “ And you 
think that we have nothing to fear ? ” 

“ The captain of the Francis- Joseph is waiting for 
you, for us all.” 

“ Suppose it should be a trap ? ” said Nadège. “ Why 
does Yermac remain on board?” 

“ There is no trap whatever about it,” answered the 
Parisian. “ The captain of the Austrian ship is Boris 
Andréyeff, your sister’s husband, Yegor I ” 

“ My brother-in-law ! ” cried Yégor. 

“ Your brother-in-law, who, after your exile to 
Siberia, disgusted with despotic Russia, quitted the 
port of Riga and took service in the Austrian merchant 
marine; your brother-in-law, to whom is given the 
immense good fortune to deliver you, and who burns 
to press you to his heart and to know the amiable 
companion you have snatched from a frightful and 
unmerited fate. You can imagine how he received 


348 


THE EXILES. 


Yermac’s denunciation. Captain Andréyeff will take 
you wherever you wish to go : to a port of King 
George’s Archipelago, of New Norfolk, of New 
Hanover, or even of California. Where do you wish 
to go ? ” 

“ Where do I wish to go?” answered Yégor. “I 
wish to go to France Î ” 

“ And Château-Thierry is there ! ” said M. Lafleur, 
smiling. “We will go together — that is if Madame 
Semenoff will permit it ! ” 

Nadège grew red as a cheriy. 

“ Vive la liberté ! ” cried the Parisian. “And now,” 
added he, “ embrace me, my friends ! ” 

Yégor, Nadège and Ladislas threw themselves into 
the arms of the excellent M. Lafleur. 

“Take care,” said he to them, wiping away a tear 
with the back of his hand, “ you will crush my pocket 
violin ! ” 

An hour later, the fugitives found themselves in- 
stalled on board the Austrian ship and perfectly at 
home. Tékel and Chort had been dismissed and 
thanked. Yégor abandoned to them the nartas and 
their contents, including the arms — less the gun 
borrowed from the governor of Yakoutsk and the 
curiosities belonging to M. Lafleur’s new collection. 
He gave them, besides, nearly all the roubles he yet 
possessed, coin and paper, which amounted to quite a 
large sum. 

The two Yakoute guides took leave of the travellers 
with sorrow. They decided to wait for the chief of 


THE EXILES. 


349 


police’s return to land, and then to start on their 
homeward journey immediately. 

The joy of Captain Andréyeff knew no bounds, and 
his liappiness would have been complete if he had been 
able to induce Yermac to break with his past, forget 
who he was and become another man. But the chief 
of police remained firm as a rock. 

M. Lafleur wished to reproach him with his conduct, 
but Yégor’s brother-in-law interfered and defended 
Yermac, saying, with firmness: 

“ He is an honest man ! ” 

The breakfast table was set on board the ship, and 
the captain insisted that Yermac should sit beside him. 
But, amid the general gayety, the chief of police 
remained silent and sad. 

He felt that he was vanquished. 

“You will not remain with us, then?” said Captain 
Andréyeff to him for the tenth time. 

Yermac shook his head negatively. 

“ I regret it,” said the captain. “ The only thing I 
can now do is to put all my boats at your disposal to 
return to land.” 

“ I thank you for your persistence and your offer,” 
said Yermac ; “ but I shall return as I came — on foot ! ” 

“ The sea is more agitated than it was last night,” 
observed the captain. 

The fugitives laid plans for the future, for a happy 
life in common. 

“ I have my emeralds yet ! ” cried Nadège, suddenly, 
looking at the chief of police. 


350 


THE EXILES. 


The latter smiled. 

The moment for separation at last arrived. 

The chief of police, after having coldly shaken hands 
with all and warmly embraced Ladislas, gave Yégor a 
document written in pencil. 

“ What is this ? ” asked Yégor. 

“ The inventory of the tools and supplies found on 
the whaler. You will, doubtless, be the first in a 
situation to use it for the benefit of the ship-owners.’’ 

With these words, he threw himself upon the ice 
block to which the ship was moored. Captain André- 
yeff had spoken truly: the sea was greatly agitated. 
Yermac seemed to take no heed of the fact. 

“At least, make use of the baydare,” cried M. La- 
fleur to him. 

He replied by a gesture of adieu. 

Every eye followed him. 

Several times, he disappeared for a minute or two 
behind blocks of ice, from which they afterwards saw 
him emerge. 

Suddenly, when upon an elevated point, he lost his 
footing. Nadège and Ladislas uttered a cry. Yermac 
appeared no more. 

“ Captain,” said Nadège, “ in mercy send some of 
your men to him. He may yet be rescued ! ” 

The captain was about to give orders to this -effect, 
when they saw the two Yakoutes advance over the ice 
fields in search of Yermac, whose disappearance they 
also had witnessed. 


THE EXILES. 


351 


On reacliing the spot where he had lost his footing, 
the Yakoutes made a vain search for the chief of 
police. The moving ice blocks between which he had 
fallen had come together again, burying him beneath 
their immense masses. 

Tékel and Chort were very quickly convinced 
of this. 

Then Tékel mounted a block, having some trouble 
to maintain his equilibrium. He made a speaking 
trumpet of his hands, and, turning towards the ship, 
cried out with all his might: 

“ Dead I” 

His voice ran over the ice with a mournful in- 
tonation. 

“He is dead!” repeated those around Captain 
Andréyeff. 

“It looks like suicide ! ” said Yégor, with a shudder. 

“I warned him,” said the captain. “Why was he 
so obstinate?” 

“ It was his own fault ! ” murmured the Parisian. 
“ But what a head he had ! ” 

“ Poor man ! ” said Nadège. “ Let us pity him, and 
remember only the assistance he rendered us at the 
peril of his life.” 

“Assistance?” said the captain, in astonishment. 

“ Yes, my dear Boris ! ” said Yégor. “ In the midst 
of the polar night, on the ice, during a frightful tem- 
pest, he saved Nadège and Ladislas from a terrible 
death — and, without him, neither they — nor I — would 
be here now ! ” 


352 


THE EXILES. 


CHAPTER XXXV, 


MARRIAGE BELLS 


HE Francis-Joseph was cast loose from the ice 



block as soon as the fact of Yermac’s death was 


ascertained ; the vessel, with only a portion of its sails 
set, moved slowly and majestically over the agitated 
surface of the Bay of Onemène towards the open sea, 
the frozen masses surging threateningly against its 
sides as if they wished to retain it a prisoner. The 
harsh roar of the waves sounded like a protest against 
the escape of the fugitives from the rough grasp of 
Muscovite despotism. 

Captain Andréyeff had decided to shape his course 
towards California and land Yégor, Nadège, Ladislas 
and M. Lafleur in San Francisco. Once in free 
America, it was the design of the exiles and the 
dancing-master to cross the continent by rail to New 
York and there take passage to France in a French 
steamer. 

The voyage down the Pacific Ocean was unmarked 
by any incident of importance, and one morning the 
Francis- Joseph anchored in San Francisco Bay. After 
all due formalities had been complied with, the fugi- 
tives, accompanied by Captain Andréyeff, landed in 
the Queen City of the Far West, the American com- 
mercial metropolis of the Pacific coast. 


THE EXILES. 


353 


The captain had furnished his passengers with suita- 
ble attire, and the whole party had quite a presentable 
appearance. Yégor, Nadège, Ladislas and M. Lafleur 
did not look the least in the world like refugees from 
the ice fields of the boreal pole. 

Yégor, who spoke English with tolerable fluency, 
acted as spokesman and interpreter. He explained as 
best he could to his companions, as they went along, 
the wonders of the strange city in which they found 
themselves. 

Captain Andréyeff took leave of them at the rail- 
road dépôt, promising to visit them in France as soon 
as he could return his vessel to its owners in Trieste. 
The farewell was affecting in the extreme. Nadège 
and Ladislas wept outright; Yégor and M. Lafleur 
silently wrung the captain’s hand, and tears stood in 
their eyes, too. As to Wab, the intelligent animal, 
which had accompanied its master on board the Francis- 
Joseph and been his companion during the voyage, 
licked the tips of Boris’ fingers as if in token of adieu. 

Once rattling over the Pacific railroad, the enthu- 
siastic M. Lafleur could no longer contain himself. 

“ Vive la liberté ! ” he almost shouted several times ; 
he was with difficulty prevented from producing his 
pocket violin and triumphantly playing the Marseilles 
Hymn before all the American passengers. 

“Do be calm. Monsieur Lafleur!” said Nadège, at 
last, a trifle impatiently. 

“ Impossible I ” cried the excited Frenchman. “ The 


BU 


THE EXILES. 


atmosphere of the United States is so full of freedom 
that it intoxicates me ! ” 

New York was reached in due time, and, after a few 
days’ rest at a quiet hotel, the party sailed for France. 

aie ^ « 

Joyous chimes were pealing in the town of Château- 
Thierry, and the streets of La Fontaine’s birthplace 
were alive with merry throngs. The peasants were 
chatting together with charming French vivacity; the 
gentle folks watched the progress of tlie fête with 
evident relish. Garlands of white roses hung every- 
where, and some munificent hand had provided a 
repast in the public square to Avhich eveiyd^ody had 
free access. 

What was the cause of the joyous chimes and this 
festivity? Whose was the hand that had spread the 
feast ? 

Two peasant girls were talking earnestly at a street 
corner. 

“What did you say the bride’s name was, Marie?” 
asked one of them. 

“I can’t pronounce it!” replied the other. “But 
it sounds heathenish and they say she is a Russian 
escaped from Siberia ! ” 

“ And the bridegroom, Marie, what is his name ? ” 

“Worse than the other! I could never master it if 
I tried all my life ! ” 

“ Is he a Russian, too ? ” 

“ Oh ! yes ! And Pauline told me last night that he 


THE EXILES. 355 

was exiled to Siberia for trying to murder the Czar I 
He looks as if he could murder anybody ! ” 

Goodness gracious ! But hush, Marie, they are 
coming from the church — the civil marriage was 
performed at the mayor’s office yesterday, was it 
not ? ” 

“ Yes, Berthe — but will you never stop talking ! ” 

The two peasant girls relapsed into silence ; at that 
moment, emerging from the church, the bridal pro- 
cession advanced up the street. 

Nadège and Yégor came first. Nadège, in a white 
satin dress and with a wreath of orange blossoms 
crowning her flaxen hair, was the very incarnation of 
beauty; Yégor, clad in the usual attire of a bride- 
groom, had quite a Parisian look. 

M. Lafleur followed, holding little Ladislas by the 
hand. 

Then came a host of the dancing-master’s relatives. 

The procession was greeted with loud and joyous 
shouts from the men, while the women and girls 
waved, their handkerchiefs and scattered flowers along 
its path. 

At last, a small but very picturesque cottage was 
reached. It was M. Lafleur’s property. Every door 
in it was open, and every window admitted the fragrant 
summer air which seemed anxious to kiss the cheek of 
the fair bride as she stood in her new home. 

M. Lafleur had thoroughly refitted his cottage on his 
return to Château-Thierry. It glistened with glossy 
paint, the furniture was all new, and in the parlor, 


356 


THE EXILES. 


spread out upon several tables, was the dancing-master’s 
famous collection of Siberian curiosities that was to gain 
him honorable mention from all the sa vans in France. 

When Nadège and Yegor had entered the parlor, a 
number of invited guests gathered about them to wish 
them joy. When they stood aside, Ladislas came shyly 
up and took his adopted sister’s hand. Nadège bent 
down and kissed him, and as she did so the remem- 
brance of his devotion to her and of their mutual 
peril amid the polar ice flashed over her like a dream. 
Tears glistened in her eyes. Yégor instinctively com- 
prehended what was taking place within her, and he, 
too, bent down and kissed the little Pole. 

Then M. Lafleur came forward ; he took the bride 
and groom each by the hand, at the same time gallantly 
impressing a kiss on Nadège’s finger tips. 

“Yégor and Nadège,” said he, “this is, indeed, a 
happy day! I congratulate you both with all my 
soul. Of course, you understand that you are to live 
with me. The late Madame Lafleur must have a 
successor in Nadège, and you and she, Yégor, must 
be the comfort of my declining years — though, to be 
sure, I am not yet very old ! ” 

“ You should get married, too. Monsieur Lafleur I ” 
said Nadège, slyly. 

“ Oh ! no ! The shade of the lamented Madame 
Lafleur forbid ! Vive la liberté ! ” 

The wedding dinner was announced, and the bridal 
party and guests went into the dining-room where a 
sumptuous repast was spread. 


THE EXILES. S67 

When all were seated M. Lafleur, the incorrigible 
M. Lafleur, said to the guests : 

“My friends, I regret exceedingly that upon this 
happ3^ occasion I cannot offer you roasted elk’s head, 
boiled seal fat, smoked reindeer tongues or any of the 
far-famed delicacies with which the Siberian festive 
board is so liberally stocked ; but you must try to 
exist without them, and devote your attention to such 
commonplace viands as the local larder affords. I 
must also ask you to accept this champagne — upon my 
honor as a Frenchman I did not manufacture it myself! 
— in lieu of fermented mare’s milk, the koumis of the 
Yakoutes ! ” 

A hearty laugh went round the table, and Nadège 
gave a little shudder as she thought of the kamakay’s 
bill of fare. 

M. Lafleur’s local larder was well supplied, at all 
events, with the best and most appetizing dishes that 
could be prepared by a celebrated Parisian cook, a 
perfect artist in his way, who had been prevailed upon 
to come to Château-Thierry, for this occasion only, by 
the tempting bait of a princely compensation. 

His masterpieces were washed down by the gentle- 
men with copious draughts of Moet et Chandon, and 
even the ladies consented to sip a little of the foamijig 
and sparkling beverage. 

All was gayety, good humor and joy. 

The health of the bride was drunk repeatedly. 

When the final course had been discussed, the guests 


358 


THE EXILES. 


returned to the parlor and gathered about in knots, 
conversing and laughing. 

Suddenly, M. Lafleur had an inspiration. 

“We must have a dance ! ” cried he. “And I will 
conduct it as I used to conduct the dances of those 
delightful young ladies, Miles. Agraféna and Elena, at 
the governor’s at Yakoutsk ! ” 

Everybody applauded the idea, and M. Lafleur, pro- 
ducing his pocket violin, began to play and call out 
the figures of the Sibérienne. 

The dance was totally unknown to all the dancers, 
save Yégor and his bride, but, nevertheless, all took 
part in it, laughing heartily at each other’s innumerable 
mistakes. 

“ This reminds me of Siberian delights ! ” cried M. 
Lafleur, playing away. 

“If so,” exclaimed one of the gentlemen, as he 
stumbled upon one of the ladies’ trails, “they must 
bear a strong resemblance to confusion worse con- 
founded ! ” 

The dance over, Yégor led Nadège to a seat by a 
window. As the summer breeze fanned her glowing 
cheek, he leaned over her and whispered : 

“Can you be happy, Nadège, in this foreign land?” 

“Oh! yes, Yégor, I could be happy anywhere — 
with you I ” 


THE END. 


T. B. PETERSON AND BROTHERS, 

306 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 

Desire to direct the close attention of all lovers of good novel reading to the 
works and authors contained in their new catalogue, just issued. A strict scrutiny is 
solicited, because the books enumerated in it are among the most popular now 
in existence. In supplying your wants and taste in the reading line, it is of the first 
importance that you should give special attention to what is popularly designated en- 
tertaining reading matter. No library is either attractive or complete without a col- 
lection of novels and romances. The experience of many years has demonstrated 
that light reading is essential to even the most studious men and women, furnishing 
the mind with healthful recreation ; while to the young, and to those that have not 
cultivated a taste for solid works of science, it forms one of the best possible training 
scfiuols, gradually establishing, in a pleasant manner, that habit of concentration of 
thought absolutely necessary to read understandingly the more ponderous works, 
which treat of political economy, the sciences, and of the arts. 

We publish and sell at very low rates, full and varied editions of the works of 
all the famous American and Foreign Novelists, whose writings are very entertain- 
ing, specially adapted for all readers. The most of them are bound in strong cloth 
binding, and also in paper covers. Examination is asked for our editions of the 
writings of Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth, whose romances are always in 
demand; Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, the well-known favorite ; Mks. Henry Wood, 
the authoress of “ East Lynne ; ” Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz, whose stories of 
Southern life stand unparalleled in their simple truth and exquisite beauty ; Mrs. C. 
A. Warfield, another very popular Southern writer; Miss Eliza A. Dupuy, who 
has made a wonderful mark ; Mrs. F. H . Burnett, the authoress of “ Theo ; ” the 
charming and pathetic French and Russian romances of Henry Greville; the 
wonderful and famous fictions of Gustave Flaubert ; the brilliant and artistic works 
of Octave Feuillet ; the highly finished and powerful stories of Ernest Daudet ; 
the popular and pleasing productions of Prosper Merimee; the beautiful and 
touching love tales of the celebrated George Sand ; the clever and intensely inter- 
esting writings of Jules Sandeau; the exciting and ingenious novels of Adolphe 
Belot; the picturesque and enchaining works of Madame Angele Dussaud ; the 
exquisitely pathetic romances of the Princess Altieri ; the strong and graphic 
productions of Andre Theuriet ; the wild frontier sketches of Gustave Aimard ; 
the classic and refined works of Madame De Staël; the absorbing and vivid fic- 
tions of Alexander Dumas, Pere ; the natural and forcible novels of Alexander 
Dumas, Fils ; the startling and mysterious romances of Eugene Sue ; the trenchant 
and unique narratives of Victor Hugo ; the realistic novels of Emile Zola, which 
have had a sale in this country unparalleled in the history of recent book-making; 
George W. M. Reynolds, whose romances of London life, founded on facts, are of 
matchless interest; Sir Walter Scott, whose “Waverley” novels still maintain 
a strong hold on the people. Charles Dickens’ complete writings we furnish in 
every variety of style. We publish also the weird stories of George Lippard ; the 
martial novels of Charles Lever ; the comical nautic.al tales of Captain Marryat ; 
Emerson Bennett’s Indian stories ; Henry Cockton’s laughable narratives ; T. 
S. Arthur’s temperance tales and household stories ; the wonderful and entertain- 
ing novels of Eugene Sue and W. H. Ainsworth ; the quiet domestic novels of 
Fredrika Bremer and Ellen Pickering; the masterly novels of Wilkie Col- 
lins; Frank Fairlegh’s quaint stories, and Samuel Warren’s elaborate ro- 
mances; the works of Mrs. C. J. Newby, Mrs. Grey, and Miss Pardoe; W. H. 
H erbert’s sporting stories ; and the graphic Italian romances of T. A. Trollope ; 
also the fascinating writings of G. P. R. James. Mrs. S. A. Dorsey, Sir Edward 
Bulwer Lytton, James A. Maitland, The Shakspeare Novels, Charles G. 
Leland (Hans Breitmann), Dow’s Patent Sermons, Doesticks, and Henry 
Morford, as well as Fkancatelli’s, Miss Leslie’s, and all the best Cook Books; 
Petersens’ “Dollar Series of Good Novels;’’ Petersons’ “Sterling Series” of 
entertaining books ; Petersons’ popular “ Square lamo. Series ” of excellent stories ; 
together with hundreds of others, by the best authors in the world. 

Look over our Catalogue, and enclose a Draft or Post Office Order for five, 
ten, twenty, or fifty dollars, or more, to us in a letter, and write for what books 
you wish, and on receipt of the money, or a satisfactory reference, the books will 
be packed and sent to you at once, in any way you may direct. Address all orders to 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, Publishers, 

306 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa* 


T. B. PETERSON and BROTHERS’ NEW BOOKS. 


<!1vrTT.T! ZOLA’S NEW EEALISTIC WORKS. 

Nana! Sequel to L’Assomraoir. By Emile Zola. Nana! Price 76 cents 
in paper cover, or $1.00 in morocco cloth, black and gold. Nana ! 

Nana’s Mother; or, L'Assommoir. By Emile Zola. The Greatest Novel 
ever printed. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.00 in cloth. 

Thérèse Raquin. By Emile Zola, author of “Nana,” “L’Assommoir,” 
etc. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.00 in cloth, black and gold. 
La Curée. By Emile Zola, author of “Nana,” and “L’Assommoir.” 

Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.00 in cloth, black and gold. 
Magdalen Férat. By Emile Zo^a, author of “Nana,” and “ L’Assom- 
moir.” Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in cloth, black and gold. 
Clorinda; or, The Court of Napoleon III., during his Reign. By Emile 
Zola. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in cloth, black and gold. 
Albine; or. The Abbé’s Temptation. {La Faute De L’Ahhe Mouret.) By 
Emile Zola. Price 75 cents in paper, or $1.25 in cloth, black and gold. 
Hélène, a Love Episode; or, Une Page D’ Amour. By Emile Zola. 

Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in morocco cloth, black and gold. 
The Rougon-Macquart Family ; or. Miette. {La Fortune Dee Bougon.) 

By Emile Zola. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in cloth. 

The Markets of Paris ; or. Le Ventre de Parie. By Emile Zola. Price 
75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in morocco cloth, black and gold. 

The Conquest of Plassans; or. La Conquête de Plaaeane. By Emile Zola, 
Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in cloth, black and gold. 

SEaXTEL TO “NANA.” NANA’S DAUGHTER. 

Nana’s Daughter. A Continuation of and Sequel to Emile Zola’s Great 
Realistic Novel of “ Nana.” Price 75 cents in paper, or $1.00 in cloth. 

HENRY GRÊVILLE’S PATHETIC NOVELS. 

Xeuie’s Inheritance. A Tale of Russian Life. By Henry Gréville. 
Savéli’s Expiation. A Powerful Novel. By Henry Gréville. 

Dournof. A Russian Story. By Henry Gréville, author of “ Dosia.” 
Lucie Rodey. A Charming Society Novel. By Henry Gréville. 
Bonne-Marie. A Tale of Normandy and Paris. By Henry Gréville. 

A Friend; or, “L’Ami.” By Henry Gréville, author of “Dosia.” 

Sonia. A Love Story. By Henry Gréville, author of “Dosia.” 
Gabrielle; or, The House of Maurèze. By Henry Gréville. 

Above are in paper cover, price 50 cents each, or in cloth, at $1.00 each. 
Dosia. A Bueeian Story. By Henry Gréville, author of “Markof.” 

The Trials of Ra'issa. By Henry Gréville, author of “ Dosia.” 

The Princess Ogherof. A Love Story. By Henry Gréville. 

Philomène’s Marriages. A Love Story. By Henry Gréville. 

Pretty Little Countess Zina. By Henry Gréville, author of “Dosia.” 
Marrying Off a Daughter. A Love Story. By Henry Gréville. 

Above are in paper cover, price 75 cents each, or in cloth, at $1.25 each. 
Markof, the Russian Violinist. A Russian Story. By Henry Gréville. 
One large volume, 12mo., cloth, price $1.50, or paper cover, 75 cents. 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. (A) 


T. B. PETERSON and BROTHERS’ NEW BOOKS. 


PETERSONS’ SaUARE 12mo. SERIES. 

The following books are all printed on tinted paper, and are each issued in 
uniform style, in square Vimo. form. Price Fifty Cents each in Paper 
Cover, or $1.00 each in Morocco Cloth, Black and Gold. 

The History of a Parisienne. Octave P’euillet’s new and greatest work. 
Haney Cottem’s Courtship. By author of ‘‘ Major Jones’s Courtship.” 
Fanchoii, the Cricket ; or, La Petite Fadette. By George Sand. 

Father Tom and the Pope; or, A Night at the Vatican. Illustrated. 

The Story of Elizabeth. By Miss Thackeray, daughter of W. M. Thackeray. 
A Woman’s Mistake; or, Jacques de Trévannes. A Charming Love Story, 
Bessie's Six Lovers. A Charming Love Story. By Henry Peterson. 

Two Ways to Matrimony ; or, Is it Love? or. False Pride. 

The Matchmaker. By Beatrice Reynolds. A Charming Love Story. 

The Days of Madame Pompadour. By Gabrielle De St. Andre. 
Madeleine. A Chiiniiing Love Story. Jules Sandeau’s Prize Novel. 
Carmen. By Prosper Merimee. Book the Opera was dramatized from. 
The Amours of Philippe ; or, Philippe’s Love Affair.^, by Octave Feuillet. 
Sybil Brotherton. A Novel. By Mrs. Emma D. K. N. Southworth. 

The Red Hill Tragedy. By Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth. 

The American L’Assommoir. A parody on Zola’s “L’Assommoir.” 

Hyde Park Sketches. A very humorous and entertaining work. 

The Little Countess, By Octave Feuillet, author of “Count De Camors.” 
Miss Margery’s Roses. A Charming Love Story. By Robert C. Meyers. 
Madame Pompadour’s Garter. A Romance of the Reign of Louis XV. 
That Girl of Mine. By the author of “ That Lover of Mine.” 

That Lover of Mine. By the author of “ That Girl of Mine.” 

Above are in paper cover, price 60 cents each, or $1.00 each in cloth. 

NEW BOOKS— MAJOR JONES’S COURTSHIP, ETC. 

The Exiles. The Russian ‘ Robinson Crusoe.’ Paper, 76 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
Mildred’s Cadet; or, Hearts and Bell-Buttons. Paper, 76 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
Major Jones’s Courtship. 21 Illustrations. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
Major Jones’s Georgia Scenes. 12 Illustrations. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
]\Iajor Jone-s’s Travels. 8 Illustrations. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
Bellah. A Love Story. By Octave Feuillet. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
Sabine’s Falsehood. A Love Story. Paper, 76 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
Vidocq! The French Detective. Illustrated. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
Camille; or. The Fate of a Coquette. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.25. 

I\Iy Hero. A Love Story. By Mrs. Forrester. Paper, 75 cts., cloth, $1.00. 
Linda; or. The Young Pilotof the Belle Creole. Paper, 75 cts., cloth, $1.25. 
Madame Bovary. By Gustave Flaubert. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
The Count de Camors. Py Octave Feuillet. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.25. 
How She Won Him ! A Love f'tor^v. Paper cover, 75 cents, cloth, $1.25. 
Angele’s Fortune. By André Theuriet. Paper cover, 75 cents, cloth, $1.25. 
St. Maur; or, An Earl’s Wooing. Paper cover, 75 cents, cloth, $1.25. 

The Woman in Black. Illustrated Cover. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
The Earl of Mayfield. An Historical Novel. By Thomas P. May. The 
Eighth and Cheap Edition for the Million. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. (B) 


T. B. PETERSON «nd BROTHERS’ NEW BOOKS. 


ADOLPHE BELOT’S INGENIOUS NOVELS. 

The Black Venus. By Adolphe Belot. Paper cover, 76 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
La Grande Florine. By Adolphe Belot. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 
The Stranglers of Paris. By Adolphe Belot. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 

MRS. BURNETT’S CHARMING STORIES. 

Kathleen. A Love Sturj. By Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett. 

Theo. A Love Story. By author of “Kathleen,” “Miss Crespigny,” etc. 
Pretty Polly Pemberton. By author of “ Kathleen,” “ Theo,” etc. 

A Quiet Life. By Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of “ Theo.” 
Miss Crespigny. A Charming Love Story. By author of “ Kathleen.” 

Above are in paper cover, price 50 cents each, or in cloth, at $1.00 each. 
Jarl’s Daughter and Other Tales. By Mrs. Burnett. Price 25 cents. 
Lindsay’s Luck. By Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett. Price 25 cents. 

NEW AND GOOD WORKS BY BEST AUTHORS. 

A Heart Twice Won; or, Second Love. A Love Story. By Mrs. Elita- 
heih Van Loon. Morocco cloth, black and gold. Price $1.60. 

The Mystery of Allanwold. A Thrilling Novel. By Mrs. Elizabeth Van 
Loon, author of “A Heart Tveice Won.” Cloth, and gold. Price $1.50. 
Under the Willows; cr. The Three Countesses. By Mrs. E/iznheth Van 
Loon, author of “A Heart Twice Won.” Cloth, and gold. Price $1.50. 
The Shadow of Hampton Mead. A Charming Story. By Mrs. Elizabeth 
Van Loon, author of “A Heart Twice Won.” Cloth. Price $1.50. 
The Last Athenian. By Victor Rj'dberg. Translated from the Swedish. 

Large 12ino. volume, near 600 pages, cloth, black and gold, price $1.75. 
The Roman Traitor ; or, The Days of Cicero, Cato, and Cataline. A Tale 
of fhe Republic. By Henry William Herbert. Morocco cloth, price $1.75. 
The Earl of Mayfield. By Thomas P. May, of Louisiana. One large 
duodecimo volume, bound in morocco cloth, black and gold, price $1.50. 
Myrtle Lawn. An American Romance in Real Life. By Robert E. 

Ballard, of North Carolina. Morocco cloth, black and gold, price $1.50. 
Miss Leslie’s Cook Book, a complete Manual to Domestic Cookery in all 
its Branches. Paper cover, $1.00, or bound in morocco cloth, $1.50. 
Frank Forester’s Sporting Scenes and Characters. By Henry William 
Herbert. With Nineteen Illustrations. Two volumes, cloth, $4.00. 
F'rancatelli’s Modern Cook Book. With the most approved methods of 
French, English, German, and Italian Cookery. With Sixty-two Illus- 
trations. One volume, 600 pages, bound in morocco cloth, $5.00. 

The Waverley Novels. New National Edition. Five 8vo. vols., cloth, 15.00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. New National Edition. 7 volumes, clolh, 20.00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. Illustrated 8vo. Edition. 18 vols., cloth, 27.00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. New American Edition. 22 vols., cloth, 34.00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. Green Cloth 12/wo. Edition. 22 vols., cloth, 44.00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. Illustrated \2mo. Edition. 36 vols., cloth, 45.00 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa, (C) 


T. B. PETERSON and BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 

I^“ Orders solicited from Booksellers, Librarians, Canvassers, News 
Agents, and all others in want of good and fast-selling 
books, which will be supplied at very Low Prices. ,^1 


MRS. E. D. E. N. SOTJTHWORTH’S FAMOUS WORKS. 

Complete in forty-three large duodecimo volumes, bound in morocco cloth, gilt back, 
price $1.75 each; or $75.25 a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 

Ishtnael; or, In the Depths, being Self-Made; or, Out of Depths.... $1 75 
Self Raised; or, From the Depths. Sequel to ‘‘ Ishniael.” 1 75 


The Mother-in-Law, $l 75 

The Fatal Secret 1 75 

How He Won Her 1 75 

Fair Play, 1 75 

The Spectre Lover, 1 75 

Victor’s Triuin{)h. 1 75 

A Beautiful Fiend, 1 75 

The Artist’s Love, 1 75 

A Noble Lord, 1 75 

Lost Heir of Linlithgow, 1 75 

Tried for her Life, 1 75 

Cruel as the Grave, 1 75 

The Maiden Widow, 1 75 

The Family Doom, 1 75 

The Bride’s Fate, 1 75 

The Changed Brides, 1 75 

Fallen Pride, 1 75 

The Widow’s Son 1 75 

The Bride of Llewellyn, 1 75 

The Fatal Marriage, 1 75 


The Deserted Wife, 1 75 

The Fortune Seeker, 1 75 

The Bridal Eve, 1 75 

The Lost Heiress, 1 75 

The Two Sisters, 1 75 

Lady of the Isle, 1 75 

Prince of Darkness, 1 75 

The Three Beauties, 1 75 

Vivia; or the Secret of Power, 1 75 

Love’s Labor Won, 1 75 

The Gipsy’s Prophecy, 1 75 

Retribution, 1 75 

The Christmas Guest, 1 75 

Haunted Homestead, 1 75 

Wife’s Victory, 1 75 

Allworth Abbey 1 75 

India ; Pearl of Pearl River,.. 1 75 

Curse of Clifton, 1 75 

Discarded Daughter, 1 75 

The Mystery ©f Dark Hollow,.. 1 75 

The Missing Bride; or, Miriam, the Avenger, 1 75 

The Phantom Wedding; or, The Fall of the House of Flint, 1 75 

Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 
Self-Made; or, Out of the Depths. By Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth. 
Complete in two volumes, cloth, price $1.75 each, or $3.50 a set. 

MRS. CAROLINE LEE HENTZ’S WORKS. 

Complete in twelve large duodecimo volumes, bound in morocco cloth, gilt bacJ^ 
price $1.75 each; or $21.00 a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 


Ernest Linwood, $1 75 

The Planter’s Northern Bride,.. 1 75 

Courtship and Marriage, 1 75 

Rena; or, the Snow Bird, 1 75 

Marcus Warland 1 75 


Love after Marriage, $1 75 

Eoline; or Magnolia Vale, 1 75 

The Lost Daughter, 1 75 

The Banished Son, 1 75 

Helen and Arthur, 1 75 


Linda ; or, the Young Pilot of the Belle Creole, 1 75 

Robert Graham; the Sequel to Linda; or Pilot of Belle Creole,”... 1 75 
Above arc each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 


1 ^* Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. (1) 


2 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS, 


MRS. ANN S. STEPHENS’ WORKS. 

Complète in large dundecinio volumes, bound in mororco cloth, gilt back^ 

pric(‘ S 1.75 each ; or $40.2.5 a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 


Nor.ston’s Rest $I 75 

Bertha’.s Engai'anent, 1 7.) 

The Soldi'Ts’ Orphans, 

A Noble Woman, 

Silent Strugules, 


The Rejected Wife, 

Lord Hope’s Choice 1 75 

The Reigning Belle, 1 75 

The Wife’s Secret, 

Mary Derwent, 

Fashion and Famine, 

Married in Haste, 1 75 

Wives and Widov\s, 1 75 

Ruby Gray’s Strategy, 1 75 

The Curse of Gold, 

Mabel’s Mistake, 

The Old Homestead, 


1 70 
1 75 
1 75 
1 75 
1 75 


Dxuhly False, 1 75 ] The Heiress, 1 75 1 The G(»ld Brick,... 1 75 

Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 


MISS ELIZA A. DUPUY’S WORKS. 


Complete in fourteen large, duoilerimo volumes, hound in merrocco cloth, gilt back, price 
$1.75 each ; or $24 50 a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 


A New Wav t(* Win a Fortune $l 75 

Why Did He Marry Her?... 

...$l 

75 

The Discarded Wife, 

. 1 75 

M^’ho Shall be Victor? 

... 1 

75 

The Clandestine Marriage 


The Mysterious Guest, 

... 1 

75 

The Hidden Sin 

. 1 75 

Was He Guilt}' ? 

... 1 

75 

The Dethroned Heiress, 

. 1 75 

The Cancelled Will, 

... 1 

75 

'J he Gipsy’s Warning 

. 1 75 

The Planter’s Daughter, 

... 1 

75 

All For Love, 

. 1 75 

Michael Rudolph, 

... 1 

75 


Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 


LIST OF THE BEST COOK BOOKS PUBLISHED. 

Every housekeeper should possess at least one of the following Cook Books, as they 
would save the price of it in a loeek^s cooking. 

M iss Leslie’’* Cook Book, a Complete Manual to Domestic Cookery 


in all its Branches. Paper cover, $1.00, or bound in cloth, $1 50 

The Queen of the Kitchen; or. The Southern Cook Book. Con- 
taining 1007 Old Southern Family Receipts ft)r Cooking,. ..Cloth, 1 75 

Mr.'S. Hale’s New Cook Book, Cloth, 1 75 

Petersons’ New Cook Book, Cloth, 1 75 

Widdifield’s New Cook Book Cloth, 1 75 

Mrs. Goodfellow’s Cookery as it Should Be, Cloth, 1 75 

Tite National Cook Book. By a Practical Housewife, Cloth, 1 75 

The Young M’ife’s Cook Book, Cloth, 1 75 

Mi.ss Leslie’.'^ New Receipts for Cooking, Cloth, .1 75 

Mrs. Hale’s Ree^*ipf8 for tlie Million Cloth, 1 75 


The Family Save- All. By author of ‘‘National Cook Book,” Cloth, 1 75 
Francatelli’.s Modern Cook Book. With the most approved methods 
of Frenc.li, Etiirlish, German, and Italian Cookery. With Sixty- 
two Illustrations. One vol., 600 pages, bound in morocco cloth, 5 00 


SCr Above Books -will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 3 


HÎRS. C. A. WARFIELD’S WORKS. 

Complete in vino lirge tJun ’ocfmo volnmoa. himn l in morocco cloth, gill back, price 
Sl.75 each ; ur $lo.75 n xet, each set is- put up in a veal box, 

T!ie CMrdiiial’s Daughter, $1 75 Miriam’s Memoirs, $1 75 

Feme Fleming, I 75 Monfort Hall, 1 75 

Th<‘ Household (»f Bouverie,.... 1 75 Sea and Shore, 1 75 

A Douide Wedding, 1 75 Hester Howard’s Tcmptati(m,... 1 75 

Lady Krnestine; or. The Absent Lord of Rocheforte, 1 75 

FREDRIKA BREMER’S DOMESTIC NOVELS. 

Complete in six large (hio'lecimo volumes, houml in cloth, gilt ha -k, pHce $1.75 racA; 
or $1U.50 a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 

Father and Daughter, $1 75 | The Neighbors, $1 75 

The Four Sisters, 1 75 1 The Horne, 1 75 

Above are each in clotii, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 
Life in the Old IVorld. In two volumes, cloth, price, 3 50 

Q. K. PHILANDER DOESTICKS’ WORKS. 

Complete in four large duodecimo volumes, bound in cloth, gilt hack, price $1.75 
each ; or $7 .00 a set, each set is jmt up in a neat box. 

Doesticks’ Letters, $I 75 I The El.-phant Chib, $1 75 

Plii-Ri-Bus-Tah 1 75 | Witches of New York I 75 

Above are each in idoth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 

JAMES A. MAITLAND’S WORKS. 

Complete in seven large duodecimo volumes, bound in cloth, gilt hack, price $1.75 
each ; or $12.25 a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 

The Watchman, $1 75 I Diary of an Old Doctor, $1 75 

The Wanderer I 75 | Sartaroe 1 75 

The Lawyer’s Story 1 75 ' The Three Cou.'ins 1 75 

The Old Patroon ; or the Great Van Broek Property, 1 75 

Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 

T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE’S NOVELS. 

Complete in seven large duodecimo volumes, bound in cWh, gilt hack, price $1.75 
each ; or $12.2.5 a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 

The Sealed Packet, $1 75 î Dream Numbers $1 75 

Garstang Grange, 1 75 ! Bcppo, tlie Con.script 1 75 

Leonora Casahmi,... 1 75 ] Gemma 1 75 | .Marietta..^. 1 75 

Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 

FRANK FORESTER’S SPORTING SCENES. 

Frank Forester’s Sporting Scenes and Characters. By Henry William 
Herbert. A New. Revised, ami Enlarged Edition, with a Life of the 
Aii'bor. a New Tntrodnetory Chapter, Frank Forester’s Portrait and 
Autograph, \vi<h a full length ]iicture of him in his sho'ding cn.stume, 
and .eeventeen other illustrations, from original d signs by Darley and 
Frank Forester. Two vols., morocco cloth, bevelled hoards, $4.00. 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa, 


4 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBIICATIONS, 


WILKIE COLLINS’ BEST WORKS. 

Basil; or, The Crossed Path..$l 50 | The Dead Secret. 12tno $1 50 

Above are each in one large duodecimo volume, bound in cloth. 

The Dead Secret, 8vo 75 The Queen’s Revenge, 75 


Basil; or, the Crossed Path, 75 

Hide and Seek, 75 

After Dark, 75 


Miss or Mrs? 50 

Mad Mouklon, 50 

Sights a-Foot, 50 


The Stolen Mask, 26 | The Yellow Mask,... 26 | Sister Rose,.,. 25 

The above books are each issued in paper cover, in octavo form. 

EMERSON BENNETT’S INDIAN STORIES. 

Complete in seven larg" duodecimo volumes, bound in cloth, gilt back, price $1.75 
each ; or $12.25 a set, each set is pul up in a neat box. 


The Border Rover, $1 75 

Clara Moreland, 1 75 

The Orphan’s Trials, 1 75 


Bride of the Wilderness, $1 75 

Ellen Norbury, I 75 

Kate Clarendon, 1 75 


Yiola: or Adventures in the Far South-West, 1 75 

Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 

The Heiress of Bellefonte, 75 j The Pioneer’s Daughter, 75 


GREEN’S WORKS ON GAMBLING. 

Complete in four large, duodecimo volumes, hound in cloth, gilt buck, price $1.75 
each; or t .-oU, <<tdi set is put up in a neat box. 

Gambling E.vposed, $1 75 i The Reformed Gambler, $1 75 

The Gambler’s Life, 1 75 | Secret Baud of Brothers, 1 75 

Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 


DOW’S PATENT SERMONS. 

Compute in four large duodecimo volumes, bound in cloth, gilt back, price $1.60 
each ; or $6.0U a set, each set is put up in a neat box. 


Dow’s Patent Sermon.«, 1st 

Series, cloth, $1 50 

Dow’s Patent Sermons, 2d 
Series, cloth 1 50 


Dow’s Patent Sermons, 3d 

Series, cloth, $1 50 

Dow’s Patent Sermons, 4th 
Series, cloth, 1 50 


Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.00 each. 


GEORGE SAND’S GREATEST WORKS. 


Consuelo, 12mo., cloth, $1 50 | Jealousy, 1 2mo., cloth, $1 50 

Countess of Rudolstadt, 1 50 | Indiana, 12mo., cloth, 1 50 

Above are each published in 12mo., cloth, gilt side and back. 
Fanchon, the Cricket, paper cover, 50 cents, or fine edition, in cloth, 1 50 
First and True Love. With 11 Illustrations. Paper, 75 cents ; cloth, 1 00 

Consuelo. Paper cover, 75 I The Corsair, 50 

Simon. A Love Story, 50 1 The Last Aldini, 50 

The Countess of Rudolstadt. The Sequel to Consuelo. Paper cover, 75 


MISS BRADD 


Aurora Floyd, 75 

Aurora Floyd, cloth 1 00 


ON’S WORKS. 

The Lawyer’s Secret,... 
For Better, For Worse,. 


25 

75 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on Receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


6 T. B. PETEESON & BROTHEES’ PUBLICATIONS. 


PETERSONS’ “STEELING SEEIES.” 

Petersons^ Sterling Series ” of Nexo and Good Books are the Cheapest Novels 
in the world. They are all issued in uniform style, in octavo form, price 
One Dollar each, bound in morocco cloth, black and gold ; or 75 cents each 
in paper cover, with the edges cut open all around. The following 
celebrated loorks have already been issued in this series: 

Corinne; or, Italy. By Madame De Staël. This is a Wonderful Book. 
The Man in Black; or the Days of Queen Anne. By G. P. R. James. 
Edina ; or, Missing Since Midnight. A Love Story. By Mrs. Henry Wood. 
C,yrilla. A Love Story. By the author of “ The Initials.” 

Popping the Question; or, Belle of the Ball. By author of “The Jilt.” 
Marrying for Money. A Charming Love Story in Real Life. 

Aurora Floyd. An Absorbing Love Story. By Miss M. E. Braddon. 
Salathiel; or, The Wandering Jew. By Rev. George Croly. 

Harry Lorrequer. Full of Fun, Frolic and Adventure. By Charles Lever. 
Charles O’Malley, the Irish Dragoon. Charles Lever’s Greatest Novel. 

The Flirt. A Fashionable Novel. By author of “The Gambler’s Wife.” 
The Dead Secret. Wilkie Collins’ Greatest Work. 

Thackeray’s Irish Sketch Book, with Thirty-eight Illustrations. 

The Wife’.s Trials. Dramatic and Powerful. By Miss Julia Pardoe. 

The Man With Five Wives. By Alexander Dumas, author of “ Camille.” 
Pickwick Abroad. Illustrated by Cruikshank. By G. W. M. Reynolds. 
First and True Love. Beautifully rich in style. By George Sand. 

’The Mystery; or, Anne Hereford. A Love Story. By Mrs. Henry Wood. 
The Steward. Illustrated. By the author of “Valentine Vox.” 

Basil: or, The Crossed Path. By Wilkie Collins. Told with great power. 
The Jealous Wife. Great originality of plot. By Miss Julia Pardoe. 
Sylvester Sound. By the author of “Valentine Vox, the Ventriloquist.” 
Whitefriars; or, The Days of Charles the Second. Equal to “Ivanhoe.” 
Webster and Hayne’s Speeches on Foot’s Resolution & Slavery Compromise. 
The Rival Beauties, A Beautiful Love Story. By Miss Pardoe. 

The Confessions of a Prettj’^ Woman. By Miss Julia Pardoe. 

Flirtations in America; or. High Life in New York. 

The Coquette. A Powerful and .\musing Tale of Love and Pride. 

The Latimer Family. T, S. Arthur’s Great Temperance Story, illustrated. 

Above books are $1.00 each in cloth, or 75 cents each in paper cover. 
The Creole Beauty. By Mrs. Sarah A, Dorsey. Price Fifty cents. 

Agnes Graham. By Mrs. Sarah A. Dorsey. Price Fifty cents. 

HENRY MORFOED’S AMERICAN NOVELS. 

Shoulder-Straps, $1 75 I The Days of Shoddy. A His- 

The Coward, 1 75 1 tory of the late War, $1 75 

Above are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, price $1.50 each. 

THE SHAKSPEARE NOVELS. 

Shakspeare and his Friends,. ..$1 00 1 The Secret Passion, $1 00 

The Youth of Shakspeare, 1 00 I 

Above three Books are also bound in morocco cloth. Price $1.25 each. 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 7 


CHARLES DICKENS’ WORKS. ILLUSTRATED. 

This edition is printed from large tupe, octavo size, each hook being conijjlete 
in one large octavo volume, honnd in Morocco (Voth, icilh Oilt Vha ra<-ter 
J’'igi(res on back, and Medallion on sidf, prire Jl .50 each, or $27. 0() a st-t^ 
contained in eighteen volumes, the tohole containing near Sijc Hiindied 
Ulnstrations, hg Crnikshank, /*hiz H.ntcne, M a liic, and other artists. 

The Pickwick Fnpers. By Charle.'i Dickens. Witli 2.2 Illu.xfnifionSj.f J.5') 


Nichola.*! Nickleby. By Charles I'iekens. Witli ‘M Il'usf rations,.... I 50 

David Copperfield. By Charles Dickens. With 8 Illustrations, 1 50 

Oliver Twist. By Charles Dickens. With 24 Illustrations, 1 50 

Bleak House. By Charles Dickens. With 88 Illustrations, 1 50 

Dombey and Son. By Charles Dickens. With 88 Illu.^trations, 1 60 

Sketches by “ Boz." By Charles Dickens.' With 20 Illustrati<'ns,... 1 50 

Little Dorrit. By Charles Dickens. With .38 Illustrations ] 50 

Our Mutual Friend. By Charles Dickens. With 42 Illustrations ... 1 50 
Great E.xpectations. By Charles Dickens. With 84 Illustrations,... 1 50 
Lamplighter’s Story. By Charles Dickens. With 7 Illustrations,... 1 50 
Barnaby Budge. By Charles Dickens. With 50 Illns’rations 1 50 


Martin Chuzzlewit. By Charles Dickens. With 8 Illustratiens, 1 50 

Old Curiosity Shop. By Charles Dickens. With 101 Illustrations,. 1 50 

Christinas Stories. By Charles Dickens. With 1 2 Illustrations, 1 50 

Dickens’ New Stories. By Charles Dickens. With portrait of author, 1 50 
A Tale of Two Cities. By Charles Dickens. With fit IllustratiKiis,. 1 50 
Charles Dickens's American Notes and Pie-Nic Papers, 1 50 

WOESS BY THE VERY BEST AUTHORS. 

The following books are each issued in one large dnodedino volume, 
bound in cloth, at $1.75 each, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 


The Initials. A Love Story. By Baroness Tautphœus, $I 75 

Miîrried Beneath Him. Bv author of “ Lost Sir Massingberd,” 1 75 

Margaret Maitland. By Mrs. Oliphant, author of “ Zaidee,” 1 75 

Family Pride. By author of “ Pique,” “ Family Secrets,” etc 1 75 

The Autobiography of Edward Wortley Montagu, 1 75 

The Forsaken Daughter. A Companion to ‘‘Linda,” 1 75 

Love and Liberty. A Revolutionary Story. By Alexander Dumas, 1 75 

The Morrisons. By Mr-*. Margaret Ilo^mer, 1 75 

The Hicii Husband. By author of ‘‘ George Geil h,” 1 75 

The Tj'>st Beauty. Bv n Nored Lady nf the Spani.-h Court 1 75 

My Hero. By Mrs. Forrester. A Charming Love Story, 1 75 


Tiie Quaker Soldier. A Revolutionary Romaiiee. By Judge .Tones,.,.. 1 75 
Memoir.s of Vidoeq, the French Detcetive. His Life ami Adventures, 1 75 
Tiie Bell- of W-ishington. With her Portrait. By Mrs. N. P. l,asseUo. 1 75 
High Life in Washington. A Life Picture. By Mrs. N. P. Lasselle, 1 75 
Courtsliip and .Matrimony. By Roiiert Mo' Hs. M’ith a Portrait,... 1 50 


The .Jealous Hiishand. By Atim-tte Marie Maillard, 1 75 

Tlie Conscript ; or, the Days of Naptdeon 1st. By Alex. Dumas,.... 1 75 
Consiti Harry. By Mrs. Grey, author of *• The Gatuhler’s Wife,” etc. 1 75 


Above books are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Bétail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brotliers, Philadelpiua, Pa. 


6 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PTJBIICATIONS. 


WORKS BY THE VERY BEST AUTHORS. 

Hie Jolloioituj books are each issued in one large duodecimo volume, 
hound in cloth, at $1.75 each, or each one is in pajyer cova ot ÿl.ôt) each. 
The CiMuit of Moiite-Cri<fo. By Duma®. Illnsfrated. paper $1.00,.. $1 75 
The Countess of Monte-Cristo. Paper cover, price $1.00 ; or cloth,.. 1 75 

CiiMiille; or. ilie Fate of :i Coqtiette. By AU.\ander Diiinas, 1 75 

Love and Money. By J. B. Jones, author of the Biv.tl Belles,”... 1 75 
The Brother’s Secret ; or, the Count De Mara. By William (Jodwin. 1 75 
The Lost Love. By Mrs. Oliphant, author of *' Marjt^aret Maitlatnl," 1 75 
The Roman Traitor. By Henry William Herbert. A Roman Story, 1 75 


The La.'t Athenian. By Victor Rydberg. From the Swedish, 1 75 

The Bohemians of London. By Edward M. Whitty, 1 75 

Wild Sports and Adventures in Africa. By Major W. C. Harris, 1 75 

The Lifo, Writings, and Lectures of the late “ Fanny Fern,” 1 75 

'J'he Life and Lectures of Lola Montez, with her portrait, 1 75 

Wild Southern Scenes. By autht»r of “Wild Western Scenes,” 1 75 

Currer Lyle; or, the Autobiography of an Actress. By Louise Reeder. 1 75 

The Cabin and Parlor. By J. Thornton Randolph. Illustrated, 1 75 

The Little Beauty. A Love Story. By Mrs. Grey 1 75 

Lizzie Glenn; or, the Trials of a Seamstress. By T. S. Arthur 1 75 

Lady Maud ; or, the Wonder of Kingso ood Chase. By Pierce Egan, 1 75 

Wilfred .Montressor; or. High Life in N»*w York. Illustrated 1 75 

Lorriiner Littlegood, by author “ Harry Coverdale’s Courlshi]),” 1 75 

Married at Last. A Love Story. By Annie Ttiomas, 1 75 

Shoulder Straps. By Henry Morford, author of ‘‘ Days of Shoildy,” 1 75 
Days of Shoddy. By Henry Morford, author of “ Shoulder Straps,” 1 75 
The Coward. By Henry Morford, author of “ Shoulder Straps,” 1 75 


Above books are each in cloth, or each one is in paper cover, at $1 .50 each. 

MRS. HENRY WOOD’S BEST BOOKS, IN CLOTH. 

The following are cloth editions of Mrs. Henry Wood's best books, and they 
are each isxned in large octavo volumes, bound in cloth, price $1.75 each. 
Within the Maze. By Mrs. Henry Wood, author of “East Lynne,” $1 75 

The Master of Greylands. By Mrs. Henry Wood, 1 75 

Dene Holhtw. By Mrs. Henry Wood, author of Within the Maze," 1 75 
Bessy Rane. By Mrs. Henry Wood, author of “ The Chaunings,”.... I 75 
George Canterbury's Will. By Mrs. Wood, author “Oswald Cray,” 1 75 
The Chnnn'ngs. Ily Mrs. Henry Wot>d, author of “ Dene Hollow,”... 1 75 

Roland Yorke. A Sequel to “ The Chaunings.” By Mrs. Wood, 1 75 

Shadow of Ashlydyatt. By Mrs. Wood, author of “ Bessy Ran'-,”.... 1 75 
Lord Otkburn’s Daughters: or The Earl’s Heirs. By Mrs. Wood,... 1 75 
Verner’s Pride. By Mrs. Henry Wot)d. author of “The Charmings,” 1 75 
The Castle’s Heir; <ir f^ady Adelaide’s Oath. By Mrs. Henry Wood, 1 75 
Oswil l Cray. By .Mrs. Henry Wood, author of “ Roland Yoi ke,”.... 1 75 

Squire Trevlyn's Heir; or Trevlyn IIoM. By Mrs. Henry Wood, 1 75 

d’hc Red Court Farm. By î\Irs, Wood, author of “Verner’s Pride,” 1 75 

Elster’s Follv. By .Mrs. Henry Wi»od. author of “ Castle’s Heir.”... 1 75 

St. Martin’s Eve. By Mrs. Henry Wootl, author of “Dene Hollow,”! 75 
Mildred Arkell. By Mrs. Henry Wood, author of “East Lynne,” 1 75 

Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Friee^ 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia. Pa. 


T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 9 


ALEXANDER DUMAS’ WORKS. BOUND IN CLOTH. 

The following are cloth editions of Alexander Dumas’ works, and tkeg are 
each issued in large octavo volumes, bound in cloth, price $1.75 each. 
The Three Guardsmen ; or. The Three Mousquetaires. By A. Dumas, $1 75 
Twenty Years After; or the “Second Series of Three Guardsmen,” ... 1 75 
Bras^elonne; Son of Athos ; or “ Third Series of Three Guardsmen,” 1 75 
The Iron Mask; or the “ Fourth Series of The Three Guardsmen.” .... 1 75 
Louise La Valliere; or the “Fifth Series and End of the Three 


Guardsmen Series,” 1 75 

The Memoirs of a Physician ; or, Joseph Balsamo. Illustrated, 1 75 


Queen’s Necklace; or “ Second Series of Memoirs of a Phgsician,” 1 75 
Six Years Later; or the “ Third Series of Memoirs of a Physician,” 1 75 
Countess of Charny ; or “Fourth Series of Memoirs of a Physician,” 1 75 
Andree De Taverney; or “Fifth Series of Memoirs of a Physician,” 1 75 
The Chevalier; or the ‘‘ «S'?*»://! Series and End of the Memoirs of a 


Physician Series,” 1 75 

The Adventures of a Marquis. By Alexander Dumas, 1 75 

The Count of Monte-Cristo. By Alexander Dumas, 1 75 

Edmond Dantes. A Sequel to the “ Count of Monte-Cristo,” 1 75 


The Countess of Monte-Cristo. A Companion to Monte-Cristo,”.... 1 75 
The Forty-Five Guardsmen. By Alexander Dumas. Illustrated,... 1 75 
Diana of Meridor, or Lady of Monsoreau. By Alexander Dumas,... 1 75 
The Iron Hand. By Alex. Dumas, author “Count of Monte-Cristo,” 1 75 


Camille; or the Fate of a Coquette. (La Dame aux Camélias,) 1 75 

The Conscript. A novel of the Days of Napoleon the First, 1 75 


Love and Liberty. A novel of the French Revolution of 1792-1793, 1 75 

GEORGE W. M. REYNOLDS’ WORKS, IN CLOTH. 

The following are cloth editions of G. IF. M. Reynolds’ works, and they are 
each issued in large octavo volumes, hound in cloth, price $1.75 eacA. 

The Mysteries of the Court of London. By George W. M. Reynolds, 1 75 
Rose Foster; or the “Second Series of Mysteries of Court of London,” 1 75 
Caroline of Brunswick; or the “ Third Series of the Court of London,” 1 75 
Venetia Trelawney; or “ End of the Mysteries of the Court of London,” 1 75 


Lord Saxondale ; or the Court of Queen Victoria. By Re 3 ’nolds, 1 75 

Count Christoval. Sequel to “ Lord Saxondale.” By Reynolds, 1 75 


Rosa Lambert; or Memoirs of an Unfortunate Woman. By Reynolds, 1 75 
Mary Price; or the Adventures of a Servant Maid. By^ Reynolds,... 1 75 
Eustace Quentin. Sequel to “ Mary Price.” By G. W. M. Reynolds, 1 75 
Joseph Wilmot; or the Memoirs of a Man Servant. By’ Reynolds,... 1 75 
The Banker’s Daughter. Sequel to “ Joseph Wilmot.” By Reynolds, 1 75 
Kenneth. A Romance of the Highlands. By G. W. M. Reynolds, 1 75 


Rye-House Plot; or the Conspirator’s Daughter. By Reynolds, 1 75 

Necromancer; or the Times of Henry the Eighth. By Reynolds, 1 75 

The Mysteries of the Court of Naples. By G. AV. M. Reynolds, 1 75 

Wallace; the Hero of Scotland. By G. W. M. Reynolds, 1 75 

The Gipsy Chief. By George AY. M. Reynolds, 1 75 


Robert Bruce; the Hero King of Scotland. By G. AY. M. Reynolds, 1 75 

Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


10 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 


WORKS BY THE VERY BEST AUTHORS. 

The followiiuj books are each issued in one large octavo volume, luntnd in 
cloth, at $2.00 each, or each one is done up in paper cover, at $1.50 each. 
The Wandering Jew. By Eugene Sue. Full of Illu.strations, $2 00 


My.«teries of Paris; and its Sequel, Gerolstein. By Eugene Sue,.... 2 00 

Martin, the Foundling. By Eugene Sue. Full of Illustrations, 2 00 

Ten Thousand a Year. By Samuel Warren. With Illustrations,.... 2 00 

Washington and His General.^. By George Lippard, 2 00. 

The Quaker City; or, the Monks of Monk Hall. By George Lippard, 2 00 

Blanche of Brandywine. By George Lippard, 2 00 

Paul Ardenheiin; the Monk of Wissahickon. By George Lippard,. 2 00 
The Mysteries of Florence. By Geo. Lippard, author “ Quaker City,” 2 00 
The Pictorial Tower of London. By W. Harrison Ainsworth, 2 60 


The following are each issued in one large octavo volume, bound in cloth, price $2.0# 
each, or a cheap edition is issued in paper cover, at lb cents each. 


Charles O’Malley, the Irish Dragoon. By Charles Lever, Cloth, $2 00 

Harry Lorrequer. With his Confessions. By Charles Lever,. ..Cloth, 2 00 

Jack Hinton, the Guardsman. By Charles Lever, Cloth, 2 00 

Davenport Dunn. A Man of Our Day. By Charles Lever,. ..Cloth, 2 00 

Tom Burke of Ours. By Charles Lever, Cloth, 2 00 

The Knight of Gwynne. By Charles Lever, Cloth, 2 00 

Arthur O'Leary. By Charles Lever, Cloth, 2 00 

Con Cregan. By Charles Lever, Cloth, 2 00 

Horace Templeton. By Charles Lever, Cloth, 2 00 

Kate O'Donoghue. By Charles Lever, Cloth, 2 00 

Valentine Vox, the Ventriloquist. By Harry Cockton, Cloth, 2 00 


HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATED WORKS. 

Each one is full of Illustrations, by Felix 0. G. Darley, and bound in Cloth. 
Major Jones’ Courtship and Travels. In one vol., 29 Illustrations, .$1 75 


Major Jones’ Scenes in Georgia. With 10 Illustrations, 1 50 

Swamp Doctor’s Adventures in the South-West. 14 Illustrations,... 1 50 

Col. Thorpe’s Scenes in Arkansaw. With 16 Illustrations, 1 50 

High Life in New York, by Jonathan Slick. With Illustrations,.... 1 50 

Piney Wood’s Tavern: or, Sam Slic-k in Texas. Illustrated, 1 50 

Humors of Falconbridge. By J. F. Kelley. With Illustrations, ... 1 50 

Simon Suggs’ Adventures and Travels. With 17 Illustrations, 1 75 

The Big Bear’s Adventures and Travels. With 18 Illustrations, 1 75 

Judge Haliburton’s Yankee Stories. Illustrated, 1 75 

Harry Coverdale’s Courtship and Marriage. Illustrated, 1 75 

Lorrimer Littlegood. Illustrated. By author of “ Frank Fairlegh,” 1 75 
Sam Slick, the Clockmaker. By Judge Ilaliburton. Illustrated,... 1 75 

Modern Chivalry. By Judge Breckenridge. Two vols., each 1 75 

Neal’s Charcoal'Sketches. By Joseph C. Neal. 21 Illustrations,... 2 50 

Major Jones’s Courtship. 21 Illustrations. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, 1 00 

Major Jones’s Georgia Scenes. 1 2 Illustrations. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, 1 00 

Major Jones’s Travels. 8 Illustrations. Paper, 76 cents, cloth, I 00 

Raney Cottem’s Courtship. 8 Illustrations. Paper, 50 cents, cloth, 1 00 


1^* Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 11 


NEW AND GOOD BOOKS BY BEST AUTHORS. 

Consuelo. By George Sand. One volume, 12ino., bound in cloi h.....'? 1 50 
The Countess ot Kudolstadt. Sequel to “Consoelo.” i2!no., cloth,.. I 50 
Indiana. A Novel. By tieorge Sand, auihor o| “ Con.-uelo,” cloth, 1 5ll 
Jealousy ; or, Tevcrino. By (ieorge Sand, author ‘‘ Cmi.'Uelo,” cloth, 1 50 
l-’anchon, the Cricket ; or, La. Petite Faih tto. By Gt'orgt^ Sand, clotli, 1 50 

Tlie Dead Secret. By Wilkie Collins, author oi ‘’Basil.’ cloth... I 50 

The Cro.'îsed Path ; or Ba^il. By 'V ilkie Collin.«, cloth, 1 50 

John Jasper’.^ Secret. ISeqnel tu of Edicin 1) oo»/,” clot h,... 1 50 

The Life of Charles Dickens. By Dr. 11. Shelton Mackenzie, ch^th, 1 50 
The Laraplighter'.s Story, with others. By Charle* Dickens, cloth,... 1 50 
The Old Stone Mansion. By author of “ Heiress of Sweetwater,” cloth, 1 50 

Rose Foster. By George W. M. Reynolds, Esq., cloth, 1 75 

Lord Montagu’.s Page. By G. P. R. James, author* Cavalier,’ cloth, 1 75 
The Earl of Mayfield. By Thomas P. May, cloth, black and gold,.. 1 50 

Myrtle Lawn. A Novel. By Robert E. Ballard, cloth, 1 50 

Corinne; or, Italy. A Love Story’. By Madame de Staël, cloth,.... 1 hO 
Cyrilla; or Mysterious Engagement. By author of “ Initials,” cloth, 1 00 

Treason at Horae. A Novel. By Mrs. Greenough, cloth 1 75 

Letters from Europe. By Colonel John W. Fornc}'. Bound in cloth, 1 75 

Frank Fairlegh. By author of “ Lewis Arundel,” cloth, 1 75 

Lewis Arundel. By author of “ Frank Fairlegh,” cloth, 1 75 

Harry Racket Scapegrace. By the autlior of “ Frank Fairlegh,” cloth, 1 75 

Tom Racquet. By author of “ Frank Fairlegh,” cloth, 1 75 

L iGaviota; the. Sea-Clull. By Fernan Caballero, cloth, 1 50 

Aurora Floyd. By Miss M. E. Braddon. Bound in cloth 1 ÜÜ 

The Law% and Practice of the («aine of Euchre and Draw Poker, 

as adopted by the Euchre Club of Washington. D. C. Cloth, 1 00 

Youth of Shakspeare, author •* Shakspeare and His Friends, ' cloth, 1 25 
Shakspeare and His Friend.s, author “ Youth of Shakspeare,” cloth, 1 25 
The Secret Passion, author of ‘‘ Shakspeare and His Friend.',” cloth, 1 25 
Father Tom and the Pope; or, A Nigit at the Vatican, illus., cloth, 1 00 

Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. One 8vo. volume, cloth, 2 50 

Life of Sir Walter Scott. By John G. Lockhart. With Portrait 2 50 

Tales of a Grandfather & History of Scotland, by Walter Scott, cloth, 2 50 
Life of Napoleon Bonay^arte, by Sir Walter Scott. One 8vo. vo!.. cloth, 2 50 
Miss Pardoe’s Choice Novels. In one large octavo volume, cloth,... 4 00 
Life, Speeches and Martyrdom of Abraham Linc<dn. Illus., cloth,.. 1 75 
Rome and the Paj)acy. \ History of the Men, Manners and Temjio- 

ral Government of Rome in the Nineteenth Century, cloth 1 75 

The French, G(*rman, Spanish^ Latin and Italian Languages Without 
a Master. Whereby any one of these Languages can be learned 

without a 'I'eacher. By A. H. Monteith. One volume, cloth 2 00 

Liebig’s Complete Works on Chemistry. By .Justus Liebig, cloth,... 2 00 

Life anil .Adventure.'; of Don Quixote an 1 Sancho Pinza, cloth, 1 75 

Tan-go-ru-a. An Hi.storical Drama, in Pr>>se. By Mr. Moorhead,.... 1 t'O 

The Impeachment Trial of President Andrew Johnson. Cloth, 1 50 

Trial ol the Assassins for the Murder of Abraham Lincoln. Cloth,... 1 50 


5^* Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price* 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


12 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS' PUBIICATIONS. 


NEW AND GOOD BOOKS BY BEST AUTHORS. 

Boautiful Snow, anti Other Poems, lUnstrnted Editiou. By J, W. 
Watson, Willi Illustrations by E. L. Henry, One volume, morocco 
cloth, black and gobl, ijilt top, side, and back, price $2,00; or in 
maroon morocco cloth, full gilt edges, full gilt back, full gilt sides, $3 0® 
The Outcast, and Other Poems. By J. W. Watson. One volume, 
greeii morocco cloth, gilt top, side and back, price $2.(!0 ; or in ma- 
roon morocco cloth, full gilt edges, full gilt back, full gilt sides, ... 3 00 
The Young Magdalen; and Other Poems. Bound in green mo- 
rocco cloth, gilt top, side, and back, price $3.0(1; or in full gilt,.... 4 00 
Hans Breitmann’s Ballads. By Charles G. Lelnnd. Cnhtnim'in/ the 
First” “Sfn-nud,” Third,” ‘‘Fourth,” and “Fifth Series” of Units 


lireitmniius Ballads. Complete in one large volume, bound in 
morocco cloth, gilt side, gilt top, and full gilt back, with beveled 

boards. With a full and com[»letc (ilossary to the whole work, 4 00 

Meister Karl’s Sketch Book. By Charles G. Leland, (Hans Breit- 
niann.) Com|)lete in one volume, green morocco cloth, gilt side, 
gilt top. gilt back, with beveled boards, price $2 50, or in maroon 

morocco cloth, full gilt edges, full gilt back, full gilt sides, etc., 3 50 

The Ladies’ Guide to True Pcditene>s and I’erfect Manners. By 
Miss Leslie. Every lady should have it. Cloth, full gilt back.... 1 75 
The Ladies’ Complete (Juide to Needlework and Embroidery. M’ilh 

1 1 3 illustrations. By Miss Lambert. Cloth, full gilt back, 1 75 

The Ladies’ Work Table Book. 27 illustrations. Paper 50 cts., cloih, 1 00 
Dow’s Short Patent Sermons. By Dow, Jr. In 4 vols., cloth, each.... 1 50 
Wild Oat.« Sown Abroad. A Spicy Book. By T. B. Witmer, cloth,... 1 50 
The Miser’s Daughter. By William Harrison Ainsworth, cloth, 1 75 


Across the Atlantic. Letters from France, Switzerland. Germany, 

Italy, and England. By C. 11. Haeseler, M.D. Bound in cloth.... 2 00 
Popery E.vposed. An E.xposition of Popery as it was and is, cloth. 1 75 
The Adoj)tcd Heir. By Miss Pardoe. author of ‘•'The Earl’s Secret,” 1 75 
Coal, Coul Oil. and all other Minerals in the Earth. By Eli Bowen, 1 75 

(Recession, Coercion, and Civil War, By J. B. Jones, 1 75 

Lives of .Tack Sheppard and Guv Fa wkes. Illustrated. One vol.. cloth, 1 75 
Christy and White’s Complete Ethiopian Melodies, bound in cloth,... 1 liO 
Historical Sketches of Plymouth. Luzerne Co., Penna. By Hendrick 

B. Wright, of Wilkesbarre. With Twenty-live Photographs 4 00 

Dr. Hollick’s great work on the Anatomy and Physiology of the 
Human Figure, with colored dissected j)lates of the Human Figure, 2 00 
Riddell’s Model Architect. With 22 large full page colored illus- 
tration.s. and 44 jdates of ground plans, with plans, specifications, 
costs of building, etc. One large quarto volume, bound 15 01 

HARRY COCKTON’S LAUGHABLE NOVELS. 

Valentine V(»x. Ventriloquist,.. 75 j The Fatal Marriages, 75 

Valentine Vo.x, clotii, 2 00 | The Steward, 75 

Svlvesfer Sound, 75 Percy Effingham, 75 

Tile Love Match, 75 The Prince, 75 


& Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


T. B. PETEESON & BROTHEES’ PUBLICATIONS. 13 


WORKS IN SETS BY THE BEST AUTHORS. 

Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth’s Popular Novels. 43 vols, in ail, $75 25 


Mrs. Ann S. Stephens’ Celebrated Novels. 23 volumes in ail, 40 25 

Miss Eliza A. Dupuy’s Works. Fourteen volumes in ail, 24 50 

Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz’s Novels. Twelve volumes in ail, 21 00 

Mrs. C. A. Warfield’s Novels. Nine volumes in all, 15 75 

Frederika Bremer’s Novels. Six volumes in all 10 50 

T. Adolphus Trollope’s Works. Seven volumes in all, 12 25 

.James A. Maitland’s Novels. Seven volumes in all, 12 25 

Charles Lever’s Works. Ten volumes in all,.... 20 00 

Alexander Dumas’ Works. Twenty-one volumes in all, 36 75 

George W. M. Reynolds’ Works. Eighteen volumes in all, 31 50 

Frank Fairlegh’s Works. Six volumes in all, 10 50 

Q. K. Philander Doestick’s Novels. Four volumes in all, 7 00 

Cook Books. The best in the world. Eleven volumes in all, 18 25 

Henry Morford’s Novels. Three volumes in all, 5 25 

Mrs. Henry Wood’s Novels. Seventeen volumes in all, 29 75 

Emerson Bennett’s Novels. Seven volumes in all, 12 25 

Green’s Works on Gambling. Four volumes in all, 7 00 

American Humorous Works. Illustrated. Twelve volumes in all, 19 50 

Eugene Sue’s Best Works. Three volumes in all, 6 00 

George Sand’s Works. Consuelo, etc. Five volumes in all, 7 50 

George Lippard’s Works. Five volumes in all, 10 00 

Dow’s Short Patent Sermons. Four volumes in all, 6 00 


The Wa verley Novels. New National Edition. Five 8vo. vols., cloth, 1 5 00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. New National Edition. 7 volumes, cloth, 20 00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. Illustrated 8co. Edition. 18 vols., cloth, 27 00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. New American Edition. 22 vols., cloth, 33 00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. Green Cloth l2tno. Edition. 22 vols., cloth, 44 00 
Charles Dickens’ Works. Illustrated \2mo. Edition. 36 vols., cloth, 45 00 

T. S. ARTHUR’S GREAT TEMPERANCE WORKS. 

Six Nights with the Washingtonians, Illustrated T. S. Arthur’s 
Great Temperance Stories. Large Subscription Edition, cloth, gilt, 

.$3.50j Red Roan, $4,50; Full Turkey Antique, Full Gilt, 6 00 

The Latimer Family ; or the Bottle and Pledge. By T. S. Arthur, cloth, 1 00 

MODEL SPEAKERS AND READERS. 

Com.'îtock’s Elocution and Model Speaker. Intended for the use of 
Schools, Colleges, and for private Study, for the Promotion of 
Health, Cure of Stammering, and Defective Articulation. By 
Andrew Comstock and Philip Lawrence. With 236 Illustrations,. 2 00 
The Lawrence Speaker. A Selection of Literary Gems in Poetry and 
Prose, designed for the use of Colleges, Schools, Seminaries, Literary 
Societies. By Philip Lawrence, Professor of Elocution. 600 pages.. 2 00 
Comstock’s Colored Chart. Being a perfect Alphabet of the English 
Language, Graphic and Typic, with exercises in Pitch, î'orce and 
Gesture, and Sixty-Eight colored figures, representing the various 
postures and different attitudes to be u.-^ed in declamation. On a large 
RoHer. Every School should have a copy of it 5 00 

Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


14 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 


CHARLES DICKENS’ WORKS. 

.^GEBAT EEDÜCTIOIî IN THBIK PEICES.-®» 


ILLÏÏSTEATED OCTAVO EDITION. 

Reduced in price from $2.50 to $].50 a volume. 

This edition is printed from Inrye type, double column, octavo page, each 
book being complete in one volume, the tohole containing near Six Hundred 
Illustrations, by Cruikshank, Phiz, Broicne, Maclise, and other artists. 


Pickwick Papers, Cloth, 

Nicholas Nickleby, Cloth, 

Gr^at Expectations, Cloth, 

Lamplighter’s Story,. ...Cloth, 

Oliver Twist, Cloth, 

Bleak House, Cloth, 

Little Dorrit, Cloth, 

Dombey and Son, Cloth, 


.Cloth, 

$1.50 

.Cloth, 

1.50 

Cloth, 

1.50 

.Cloth, 

1.50 

.Cloth, 

1.50 

Cloth, 

1.50 

Cloth, 

1.50 

Cloth, 

1.50 

Cloth, 

1.50 


David Copperfield, Cloth, $1.50 

Barnaby Rudge, Cloth, 1.50 

Martin Chuzzlewit, Cloth, 1.50 

Old Curiosity Shop, Cloth, 1.50 

Sketches by “ Boz,” Cloth, 1.50 

Christmas Stories, Cloth, 1.50 

Dickens’ New Stories,. ..Cloth, 1.50 
A Tale of Two Cities,. ..Cloth, 1.50 
Amer. Notes, Pic-Nic Papers, 1.50 


Price of a set, in Black cloth, in eighteen volumes, $27.00 

Full sheep. Library style, 40.00 

Half calf, sprinkled edges, 48.00 

Half calf, marbled edges, 54.00 

Half calf, antique, or Half calf, full gilt backs,... 60.00 


ILLUSTRATED DUODECIMO EDITION. 

Reduced in price from $2.00 to $1.25 a volume. 

This edition is printed on the finest paper, from large, clear type, leaded, 
that all can read, containing Six Hundred full page Illustrations, on 
tinted paper, from designs by Cruikshank, Phiz, Browne, Maclise, 
McLenan, and other artists. This is the only edition published that con- 
tains all the original illustrations, as selected by Mr. Charles Dickens. 
Complete in 36 volumes, bound in back, morocco cloth, price $45.00 a set. 


“ NEW NATIONAL EDITION” OF DICKENS’ WORKS. 

This is the cheapest bound edition of the entire works of Cliarles Dickens 
ever published, all his writings being contained in seven large octavo vol- 
umes, with a portrait of Charles Dickens, and other illustrations. 

Price of a set, in Black cloth, in seven volumes, $20.00 

“ “ Full sheep. Library style, 23.00 

« “ Half calf, antique, or Half calf, full gilt backs,... 25.00 


GREEN MOROCCO CLOTH, DUODECIMO EDITION. 

This is the “ People’s Duodecimo Edition” in a new style of Binding, in 
Green Morocco Cloth, Bevelled Boards, Full Gilt descriptive hack, and 
Medallion Portrait on sides in gilt, in Twenty-two handy volumes, 12»io., 
fine paper, large clear type, and Two Hundred Illustrations on tinted pap'er. 
Price $44 a set, and each set put up in a neat ùnd strong box. 'This is 
the handsomest and best edition ever published for the price. 


tf^ Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Pricei 
by T, B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


T. B. PETEESOH & BEOTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 15 


CHARLES DICKENS’ WORKS. 

GREAT REDUCTION IN THEIR PRICES. 


PETERSONS’ NEW AMERICAN EDITION OF DICKENS’ WORKS. 

This jiew edition of Charles Dickens’ Writing.-^ is in twenty-two volume.*, 
and for beauty and cheapness far ^ u.rpasses any ever before issued. It is 
called Peter.'ons’ New American Edition,” and is printed on tine paper, 
from large, dear type, leaded, with original illustrations as s(dected by, 
Mr. Dickens and designed by Phiz, Cruikshank, Browne, Maclise and other 
artists, and bound very gorgeously in red vellum, i)lacl< and gold, with the 
cover filled with the autlior’s principal characters, which he has made so 
world-famous. There in one corner is the immortal Pickwick, in another 
the wel. -known Micawber, the learned Ca])t. Cuttle, poor little Oliver Twist, 
the uii.“guided Grand'ather. the mean, hypocritical Pecksniff, the merce- 
nary Squeers, Boots, The Beadle, etc., and all of this for the small sum of 
$1.50 a volume, or a complete set in 22 volun)es7<?«ch set put up in a neat 
box, for $88.00, making a very handsome and unique edition. 


CHEAP PAPER COVER EDITION OF DICKENS’ WORKS. 


Each hook being complete 


Pickwick Papers, 50 

Nicholas Niekleby, 50 

Dombey and Son, 50 

Our Mutual Friend, 5i> 

David Copperfield 50 

Martin Chiizzlewit, 60 

Old Curiosity Shop, 50 

Oliver Twist 50 

American Notes, 25 

Hard Times, 25 

A T.ile of Two Cities, 25 

Somebody’s Luirgage, 25 

Mrs. Lirriper’s Lodgings, 25 

Mrs. Lirriper’s Legacy, 25 

Mugby Junction, 25 

Dr. Marigold’s Prescriptions,... 25 

Mystery of Edwin Drood 25 

Message from the Sea, 25 


Hunted Down; and Other Repriniei 


in one large octavo volume. 

Bleak House, 

Little Dorrit 

Christmas Stories, 

Barnaby Rudge, 

.Sketebos by ** Boz,” 

(îreat K.xpectations, 

Jo.-eph iJrimaldi 

The Pic-Nic Papers, 

The Haunted House 

Uncommercial ’I’l'.-iveller 

A lIou.«e to Let, 

Perils of Engli.'b Prisoners, 

Wreck of the Gohien Mary, 

Tom Tiddler’s (î round 

Dickens’ New Stories, 

Lazy Tour of Idle .Apprentices,. 

The Holly-Tree Inn, 

No Thoroughfare, 

Pieces, 


50 

60 

50 

50 

50 

60 

50 

50 

25 

25 

25 

25 

25 

25 

25 

25 

25 

25 

50 


THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF CHARLES DICKENS. 

LIFE AND WRITINGS OF CHARLES DICKENS. By Dr. R. Shelton 
Mackenzie, containing a full history of his Lite, his Uncollected Pieces, 
in Prose and Verse ; Personal Recollections and Anecdotes; llis Last 
AVill in full ; and Letters from i\Ir. Dick<ms never before published. 
AVith a Portrait and Auiograph of Cha.des Dickens. Complete in one 
large duodecimo volume, in black cloth, or in red vellum. Price $1.50. 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa, 


T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBLICATIONS. 17 


CHARLES LEVER'S GREAT WORKS. 


Charles O'Malley, 


Arthur O’Leary, 


Harry Lorroquer, 


Con Cregan 


Jack Hinton 


Davenport Dunn, 


Tom Burke ol Oars, 


Horace Tetiipleton, 


Knight of G Wynne, 





Al)i>ve iiro lu p;iper cover, or a fine edition is in clotli at $2.UU each. 


A Rent in a Cloud, 50 | St. Patrick's Eve, 50 

Ten Thousand a Year, in one volume, paper cover, $ 1.50 ; or in cloth, 2 00 
The Diary of a Medical Student, by author •* Ten Thousand a Year,” 75 


MRS. HENRY WOOD’S MASTERLY BOOKS. 


The Shadow of Ashlydyat, $l 50 

S(iuire Trevlyn’s Heir, 1 50 

O.'Wald Cray, 1 60 

Mildred Arkell 1 50 

The Red C.inrt Farm, 1 50 

Elster’s Folly 1 50 


The Master of Greyland.^, $1 50 

M’ii bin the Maze, 1 50 

Dene Hollow, 1 50 

Bessy Kane, 1 50 

George Cmterbury's Will, I 50 

Verner's Pride, 1 50 

The Cha lining.'-, 1 50 

Roland Yorke. A Sequel to “ 'The Channings,” 1 

liord Oiikbuni’..i Daugliters; or. The Earl's Heirs, I 

The Castle's Heir; or. Lady Adelaide’s Oath, 1 

The above are each in pa[ier cover, or in cloth, jincc $1.75 each. 

Edin.i ; or. Missing Since Midnight. Cloth, $1.00, or in paper cover,. 


S.i-lnt Martin’s Eve 1 


Cloth. $1.00, or in paper cover, 75 


75|A Life's Secret 


The Mystery. A Love Story. 

Parkwater. Told in Twilight, 

The Lost Bank Note, 50'The Haunted Tower... 

Tile Lost Will, 50jTlie Runaway Match,. 

Orville College 0<>!Martyn Ware's 'I’empfation, 


F^ive Thousatid a Year, 


Frances ILldyar l, 2.5 Bupert Hall, 

Cynlla Maude's First Love,... 

My Cousin Caroline’s Wedding 


25 My Husband's First Love, 

25 Marrying Beneath Your Station 


50 

50 

50 

50 

75 


50 

50 

25 

25 


25 Fogiiy Night at Ofi’ord, 25 


The Diamond Bracelet 25 AViIliam Allair, 25 

Clara Lake’s Dream 25 A Light and a Dark Christinas, 25 

The Notilcman’s Wife, 25 The Smii'j-gler’s Ghost 25 


25 

2.5 

25 


EUGENE SUE’S LIFE-LIKE V/ORKS. 

The Wandering Jew, $1 601 First Love 50 

The Mysteries of Paris, 1 60 1 Wom-an’s Love 60 

Martin, the Foundling 1 '50 j Female Bluebeard, 50 

Above are in cloth at $2.00 each. i Man of-War's-Man 50 

Life and Adventures of Raoul de Survilie. A Tale of the Empire,... 25 


WILLIAM K. MAXWELL’S WORKS. 

Wild Sports of tlie West, 75 I Brian O'Lynn. 

Stories of Waterloo, 75 I l.ife of Grace O’Malley,. 


75 

50 


Above Books will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of Retail Price, 
by X. £. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


18 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS’ PUBIICATIONS. 


HUMOROUS AMERICAN WORKS. 

TUnimnafed Covers, and béant If ally Illnstrnted by Felix O. C. Darley, 

Major Jones’s Courtship. With Illustrations by Darley, 75 

Major Jones’s Travels. Full of Illustrations 75 

Major Jones’s Georgia Scenes, with Illustrations by Darley 75 

Raney Cottem’s Courtship, by author of Major Jone.«’s Courtship,.... 60 

The Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs. Illustrated, 75 

Major Jones’s Chronicles of Pineville. Illustrated, 75 

Polly Peablossoiu’s Wedding. With Illustrations, 75 

Widow Rugby’s Husband. Full of Illustrations, 75 

The Big Bear of Arkansas. Illustrated by Darley, 75 

Western Scenes; or. Life on the Prairie. Illustrated, 75 

Streaks of Squatter Life and Far West Scenes. Illustrated, 75 

Pickings from the New Orleans Picayune. Illustrated, 75 

Stray Subjects Arrested and Bound Over. Illustrated, 75 

The Louisiana Swamp Doctor. Full of Illustrations, 75 

Charcoal Sketches. By Joseph C. Neal. Illustrated, 75 

Peter Faber’s Misfortunes. By Joseph C. Neal. Illustrated, 75 

Peter Ploddy and other Oddities. By Joseph C. Neül, 75 

Yankee Among the Mermaids. By William E. Burton 75 

The Drama in Pokerville. By J. M. Field. Illustrated, 75 

New Orleans Sketch Book. AVith Illustrations by Darley, 75 

The Deer Stalkers. By Frank Forester. Illustrated 75 

The Quorndon Hounds. By Frank Forester. Illustrated, 75 

My Shooting Box. B}' Frank Forester. Illustrated, 75 

The AA'^arwick Woodlands. By Frank Forester. Illustrated, 75 

Aflventures of Captain Farrago. By H. H. Bracken ridge, 75 

Adventures of Major O'Regan. By H. H. Brackenridge, 75 

Sol Smith’s Theatrical Apjirenticeship. Illustrated, 75 

Sol Smith’s Theatrical Journey-AVork. Illustrated, 75 

Quarter Race in Kentucky. AVith Illustrations by Darley, 75 

The Mysteries of the Backwoods. By T. B. Thorpe, 75 

Percival Mayberry’s Adventures. By J. H. Ingraham, 75 

Sam Slick’s Yankee Yarns and Yankee Letters, 75 

Adventures of Fudge Fumble; or. Love Scrapes of his Life, 75 

Aunt Patty’s Scrap Bag. By Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz, 75 

Following the Drum. By Mrs. Gen. Viele, 50 

The American Joe Miller. AVith 100 Engravings, 50 

SAMUEL WARREN’S BEST BOOKS. 

Ten Thousand a Year, paper, $ I 50 [The Diary of a Medical Stu- 
Ten Thousand a Year, cloth,.. 2 00 I dent, 75 

G. P. R. JAMES’S FASCINATING BOOKS. 


The Cavalier. By the author of “ Lord Montague’s Page,” cloth,.... 1 00 

The Man in Black, 75 I Arrah Neil, 75 

Mary of Burgundy, 75 I Eva St. Clair, 50 


by T. B. Feteraon & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 


PETEESONS’ NEW BOOKS. 


NANA’S DAUGHTER. A Continuation of and Sequel to Emile 
Zola’s Novel of “ NANA.” Paper, 75 cents, or $1.00 in cloth. 

NANA, Bif Emile Zola. A New Edition. With an Illustrated 
Cover and Portraits. Price 75 cents in paper, or $1.00 in cloth. 

NANA’S MOTHER; or, L’ASSOMMOIR. By Emile Zola. 
With her Portrait. Paper cover, 75 cents, or $1.00 in cloth. 

THE HISTORY OP A PARISIENNE. By Octave Feuillety 
author of “ Bellah.” Paper, 50 cents, or $1.00 in cloth. 

THE EXILES. A Russian Story. Paper, 75 cents, or cloth, $1.00. 

MILDRED’S CADET; or, HEARTS AND BELL-BUT- 
TONS. An Idyl of We6t Point. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 

MY HERO ! By Mrs. Forrester. Paper, 75 cents, or cloth, $1.00. 

CAMILLE; or, THE FATE OF A COQUETTE. (“Za 

Dame Aux Camélias.'*') Paper, 75 cents, or $1.25 in cloth. 

DOS T A . By Henry Grêville. Paper cover, 75 cents, or cloth, $1.25. 

VIDOCQ! THE FRENCH DETECTIVE. With Portrait 
and other Engravings. Paper, 75 cents, or $1.00 in cloth. 

THE EARL OF MAYFIELD. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 

MAJOR JONES’S COJRTSHIP. With 21 full- page Illustra- 
tions. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.00 in cloth. 

LINDA. By Caroline Lee Hentz. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.25. 

THE WOMAN IN BLACK, being the Story of a Handsome 
and Ambitious Woman. Paper, 75 cents, cloth, $1.00. 

THE COUNT DE CAMORS. By Octave Feuillet. Price 75 
cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in cloth. 

MADAME BOVARY. A Tale of Provincial Life. By Gustave 
Flaubert. His Great Book. Paper, 75 cents, or cloth, $1.00. 


KATHLEEN! THEO! MISS CRESPIGN Y ! PRETTY 
POLLY PEMBERTON ! and QUIET LIFE. By Mrs. 

Burnett. Price of each, 50 cents in paper, or $1.00 in cloth. 


1 ^. 4 // of the above works are for sale by all Booksellers and News Aycnts everywhere^ 
and on all Rail-Road Trains, or copies of any one, or all of them, will be sent to any one, 
t9 any place, per mail, post-paid, on remitting price of the ones wanted to the Publishers, 

X, B, BETEBSON & BBOTHEBS, Philadelphia, Ba* 


23 Volumes, at 01.75 each.; or $40.00 a Set. 


T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, No. 306 Chcslnul Street, Philadeîphin, Pa., 
hare Just puhfis.'ied au eufire new, complete, and nniform edition of oil the works writ- 
ten hi/ Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, the popular American Authoress. This edition is in 
duodecimo form, is printed on the finest paper, is complete in tivent //-three volumes, and 
each volume is bound in morocco cloth, with a full gilt back, and is sold at the low price 
of $1.75 each, or $-40.0() for a full and com/jlete set. Every Family and every Library 
in this country, should have in it a comjjlete set of this new and beautiful edition of 
the works of Mrs. Ann S. Stephens. The following are the names of the volumes: 

NORSTON’S REST. THE REIGNING BELLE. 

BERTHA’S ENGAGEMENT. MARRIED IN HASTE. 

BELLEHOOD AND BONDAGE; or, Bought with a Price. 

LORD HOPE’S CHOICE; or, More Secrets Than One. 
THE OLD COUNTESS. Sequel to “Lord Hope’s Choice.’» 

RUBY GRAY’S STRATEGY ; or, Married by Mistake. 

PALACES AND PRISONS; or. The Prisoner of the Bastile. 

A NOBLE WOMAN ; or, A Gulf Between Them. 

THE CURSE OF GOLD; or. The Bound Girl and The Wife’s Trials. 
MABEL’S MISTAKE; or, The Lost Jewels. 

THE OLD HOMESTEAD ; or, The Pet from the Poor House. 
THE REJECTED WIFE; or, The Ruling Passion. 

THE WIFE’S SECRET; or, Gillian. 

THE HEIRESS; or. The Gipsy’s Legacy. 

SILENT STRUGGLES; or, Barbara Stafford. 

WIVES AND WIDOWS; or, The Broken Life. 

DOUBLY FALSE; or. Alike and Net Alike. 

THE GOLD BRiCK. THE SOLDIER’S ORPHANS; 

MARY DERWENT, FASHION AND FAMINE. 

Above books are for sale by all Booksellers at $1.75 each, or .$40.00 for a com- 
plete srt of the twenty-three volumes Copies of either one or more of the above books, 
or a complete set of them, will be sent at once to any one, to any place, postage 
prepaid, or free of freight, on remitting their price in a letter to the Publishers, 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS. Philadelphia, Pa. 


MRS. CAROLINE LEE HENTZ’S WORKS. 

LIBRARY EDITIOH, m MOROCCO CLOTH. 


2-2i Volumes, at 31- "ZS Eacla; op 331-00 a Set. 


T. B. PETERSON- & BROTHERS, No, 306 Chestnut Street, Phila- 
delphia, have just published an entire ncic, contplete,.and uniform edition of 
all the celebrated Hovels written by the popular American Novelist, Mrs. Car- 
oline Lee Ilcntz, in twelve large duodecimo volumes. They are printed on the 
fnest paper, and bound in the most beautiful style, in Green Morocco cloth, 
wdh a new, fall gilt back, and sold at the low price of $1.75 each, or ir21.00 
for a full and complete set. Every Family and every Library in this country, 
should, have in it a compdete set of this new and beautiful edition of the works 
of Mrs. Caroline Lee llentz. The following is a complete list of 

MRS. CAROLINE LEE HENTZ’S WORKS. 

LINDA; OP, THE YOUNG PXOT OF THE BELLE CREOLE. 

With a Complete Biography of Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz. 
ROBERT GRAHAM. A Sequel to “Linda.” 

RENA; or, THE SNOW BIRD. A Tale of Real Life. 

MARCUS WARLAND ; or, The Long Moss Spring. 

ERNEST LINWOOD; or, The Inner Life of the Author. 

EOLINE; or, MAGNOLIA VALE; or. The Heiress of Glenmore. 
THE PLANTER’S NORTHERN BRIDE ; or, Mrs. Hentz’s Childhood. 
HELEN AND ARTHUR; or. Miss Thusa’s Spinning-Wheel. 
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE; or, The Joys of American Life. 
LOVE AFTER MARRIAGE; and other Stories of the Heart. 

THE LOST DAUGHTER ; and other Stories of the Heart. 

THE BANISHED SON; and other Stories of the Heart. 

Books are for sale by all Booksellers at $1.75 each, or $21.00 for 
a complete set of the twelve volumes. Copies of either one of the above books, or 
a complete set of them, will be sent at once to any one, to any place, pmtaga 
pre-paid, erfree of freight, on remitting their price in a letter to the Publisher^ 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, Philadelphia, Pa. 


MAJOR JONES’S COURTSHIP 

AND MAJOR JONES’S OTHER BOOKS, JUST PUBLISHED BY 

r. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, PHILADELPHIA 

And for sale in Paper Cover, and in Morocco Cloth, Gilt. 


Major Jones’s Courtship. 

MAJOR JONES’S COURTSHIP. Detailed, with Humorous Scenes, Inci- 
dents, and Adventures. By Major Joseph Jones, author of “Raney Cot- 
tern’s Courtship,” “Major Jones’s Travels,” “Major Jones’s Georgia 
Scenes,” etc. Revised and Enlarged. With Twenty-One Full Page Illus- 
trations on Tinted Plate Paper, by Dailey and Cary. One volume, 12mo. 
Price 75 cents in paper cover ; or in morocco cloth, gilt, $1.00. 

Major Jones’s Travels. 

MAJOR JONES’S TRAVELS. Detailing his Adventures, Humorous 
Sct-iico, and Incidents, in. each town he passed through, while on his tour 
from Georgia to Canada. By Major Joseph Jones, author of “Major 
Jones’s Courtship.” With Eight Full Page Illustrations on Tinted Paper, 
by Darley. One volume, 12mo., uniform with “Major Jones’s Courtsliip.” 
Price 75 cents in paper cover; or in morocco cloth, gilt, $1.00. 

MAJOR JONES’S COURTSHIP and MAJOR JONES’S TRAVELS. These two 
books are also issued in one volume, bound in morocco cloth, price $1.75. 

Major Jones’s Georgia Scenes. 

MAJOR JONES’S GEORGIA SCENES. Comprising his celebrated Sketches 
of Georgia Scenes, with tlieir Incidents and Characters. By Major Joseph 
Jones, author of “Major Jones’s Courtship.” With Twelve Full Page 
Illustrations on Tinted Paper, by Darley. Uniform with “ Major Jones’s 
Courtsuip.” Price 75 cents in paper cover ; or in morocco cloth, gilt, $1.1X1. 

Eancy Cottem’s Courtship. 

RANGY COTTEM’S COURTSHIP. Detailed, with Other Humorous 
Sketches and Adventures. By Major Joseph Jones, author of “Major 
Jones’s Courtship.” With Eight Full Page Illustrations on Tinted Plate 
Papei-, by Cary. One volume, 12mo., uniform with “ Major Jones’s Court- 
iiip.” Price 50 cents in paper cover ; or in morocco clotii, gilt, $1.00. 


Books by Major Jones, are for sale by all Booksellers and Newt 
Aaents. or copies of any one or all of them, will be sent to any one, to any place^ 
at once, posUpaid, on remitting the price of the ones wanted, to the publishers^ 

T. 15. PETEKSON & BKOTIIEKS, Philadelphia, Pa. 


WANTED.— CaiiTassers to engagR in the ûm wivh 



PETEUSOîrS’ rOLLAH SEEIES. 

l*rice One LPoUar Each, in Cloth, Elach and Gold. 


A. ^^OMAN’S THOUGHTS ABOUT ^TOMEN. By Miss Mulrick. Every T^ady wants it 
TWO W^AYS TO MATRIMONY ; or. Is It Love, or, False Pride? 
the STOHY op “ELIZABETH.” By Mis-* Thackeray, daughter of W. M. Thackeray. 
FLIRTATIONS IN FASHIONABLE LIFE. By Catha. ine Sinclair. 

THE MATCHMAKER. A Society Novel. By Beatrice Reynolds. Full of freshness and truth. 
ROSE DOUGLAS, The Bonnie Scotch Lass. A Companion to “Family Pride.” 

THE EARL’S SECRET. A Charming and Sentimental Love St"ry. By Miss Pardoe. 
FAMILY SECRETS. A Companion to “Family Pride,” and a very fascinating work. 

THE MACDERMOTS OP BALLYCLORAN. An Exciting Novel hy Anthony Trollop*. 
THE FAMILY S AVE-ALL. With Economical Receijits for Breakfast, Dinner and Tea. 
SELF-SACRIFICE. A Charming and Exciting Work. By author of “ Margaret Maitland.” 
THE PRIDE OP LIFE. A Ixtve Story. By Lady Jane Scott. 

THE RIVAL BELLES; or. Life in Washington. By author “Wild Western Scenes.” 
THE CLYPFARDS OP CLYPPE. By James Payn, author of “ Lost Sir Massingberd.” 
THE ORPHAN’S TRIALS; or. Alone in a Great City. By Emerson Bennett. 
THE HEIRESS OP SWEETWATER. A Love Story, abounding witli exciting scenes. 
THE REFUGEE. A delightful book, full of food for laughter, and sterling information. 
LOST SIR MASSINGBERD. A Love Story. By author of “ The Clyffards of Clyffe.” 
CORA BELMONT; or, THE SINCERE LOVER. A Tnie Story of the Heart. 
THE LOVER’S TRIALS ; or. The Days Before the Revolution. By Mrs. Denison. 
MY SON’S WIPE. A strong, bright, interesiing and charming Novel. By author of “ Caste.” 
AUNT PATTY’S SCRAP BAG. By .Mis. Caroline Lee Hentz, author of “ Lind;»,” “Rena.” 
SARATOGA! AND THE FAMOUS SPRINGS. An Indian Tale of Frontier Life. 
COUNTRY QUARTERS. A Charming Love Story. By the Countess of Blessington. 
SELF-LOVE. A Book for Young Ladies, with their prospects in Single and Married Life contrasted. 
THE DEVOTED BRIDE ; or, FAITH AND FIDELITY. A Love Story, 

THE HEIRESS IN THE FAMILY. By author of “ Marrying for Money.” 

THE LIFE OP EDWIN FORREST. By Colley Cibber. With Reminiscences. 

THE MAN OP THE WORLD. This is full of style, elegance of diction, and force of thought, 
OUT OF THE DEPTHS. A Woman’s Story and a Woman’s Book, the Story of a Woman’s Life, 
THE QUEEN’S FAVORITE ; or. The Price of a Crown. A Romance of Don Juan. 
SIX NIGHTS WITH THE WASHINGTONIANS. By T. S. Arthur. Illustrated. 
THE RECTOR’S WIPE; or, THE VALLEY OP A HUNDRED FIRES. 
THE COQUETTE; or, LIFE AND LETTERS OP ELIZA WHARTON. 
W^OMAN’S W^RONG. A Book for Women. By Sirs. Eiloart. A Novel of great power. 
HAREM LIFE IN EGYPT AND CONSTANTINOPLE. By Emmeline Lott. 
THE OLD PATROON; or, THE GREAT VAN BROEK PROPERTY. 
NANA. By Emile Zola. GAMBLING EXPOSED, By J II. Green. 

L’ASSOMMOIR. By Emile Zola. WOODBURN GRANGE. By W. Honitt. 

DREAM NUMBERS. By T. A. Trollope. THE CAVALIER. By G. P. R. J;tmes. 
LOVE AND DUTY. By Mrs. Ilubback. ONE FOR ANOTHER. By II. Morford. 
A LONELY LIFE. SHOULDER-STRAPS. By II, Morford. 

THE BEAUTIFUL WIDOW. TREASON AT HOME. PANOLA I 

The ibove Books are all issued in Petersons' Dollar Series," avd they will be found for sale 
hi all Book-sellers, Xews Agents, and on all Railroad trains, at One Dollar each, or copies of any one 
or m re, will be sent to any place, at once, post-paid, on remitting the price of the ones ivanted in a letter, tc 

T. B. BETERSOK & BROTHERS^ PhiladelpMoe, 


AU or any will be sent free of postage, everywhere, to all, on receipt of remittances, 

Tîie Cotant 05" Monte-Cristo. With elegant illustration?», and portraits of Edmond Ds,ut«^ 
Mercedes, and Fernand. Price $1.50 in paner cover ; or $1.75 in cloth. 

Edmond I>antes. A Sequel to the “Count of Moate-Cristo.” In one largo octavo volnma 
Price 75 cents in paper lOver, or a finer edition, Iwund in cioth, for $1.75. 

The Countess of Monte-Cristo. With a portrait of the “Countess of Monte-Crirto” on 
thv cover. One largo octavo volume, paper cover, price ; or bound in cioth, for $1 .75. 

» The Three ti^uJirdsmen ; or. The Three Mousquetaires. In c-ae large octar 
volume. Price 76 cents in iiaper cover-, or a finer edition ;n cloth, for $1.75. 

Twenty Years After. A Sequel to the “ Three Guai dsmen.” In one large octavo voiuir# 
price 75 cents in paper cover, or a finer edition, in o re volume, cloth, for $1.75. 

Brag-eiounc ; the Son of Alhos. Being the continuation of “ Twenty Years After.” lo 
one large octavo vclume. Price 75 cents ii. iiaper cover, or a finer edition in cloth, for $1.75. 

The Iron Mask. Being the continuation ot the “Three Gnanlsni en,” “Taenty Years After,” 
and “ Bragelonne.” In one large octavo volume. Paper cover, $1.( 0; or in cloth, for §1.75. 

liOnise E'l VaiJiere; or, the Second Series of the “Iron Mash,” and end of “The Three 
Guardsmen ” series. In one laige octavo volume. Paper cover, $1.00; or in cloth, for $1.75. 

The Memoirs of «t Physician ; or, The Secret History of the Conrtof Louis the Fifteenth. 
Beautifully Illustrated. In one large octavo volume. Paper cover, $1.0(); or in ch>th, for $1.75. 

The flueen’s Necklace; or, Tlie “Second Series of the Memoir-^ of a Physician.” In one 
large octavo volume. Paper cover, price $1.00; or in one volume, cloth, for $1.75. 

Six Years Eater; or, Taking of the Bastile. Being the “Third Series of the Memoirs of k 
Physician.” In one large octavo volume. Paper cover, $1 .(X> ; or in cloth, for $1.75. 

Éonntess of Charoy; or, The Fall of the French Monarchy. Being the “Fouith Series n! 
(he Memoirs of a Physician.” In one large octavo volume. Paper cover, $1 .00 ; or in cloth, for $1 .75. 

Andree de Taverir.ey» Being the “Fifth Series of the Memoirs of a Physician.” In out 
large octavo volume. Paper cover, price $1.00; or in one volume, cloih, for $1.75. 

The Chevalier; or, the “Sixth Series and final conclusion of the Memoirs of a Physicia* 
Berlss.” In one large octavo volume. Price $1.00 in paper cover; or $1.75 in doth. 

Joseph Balsasno. Dumas’ greatest work, from which the play of “Joseph Balsamo” wac 
^matized, by his sou, Alexander Dumas, Jr. Price $1.00 In paper cover, or $1.50 in cloth. 

The Conscript; or, TSse l>ays of the First Napoleon. An Historical Novel. In 
one large duodecimo volume. Price $1.50 in paper cover; or in cloth, for $1.75. 

Caiiiille; or, Tîie Fate of a Coquette. (“La. Dame aux Camélias.”) This îs the only 
true and complote translation of “ Camille,” and it is from this translation that the Play of “Camille,” 
and the Opera of “La Traviata” was adapted to the Stage. Paper cover, price $1.50; or in cloth. $1.75. 

3.ove and Elherty; or, A Man of the I'eople. (Kene Ees«)n.) A Thiilling Story 
of the French Revolution of 17!)2-9‘1. In one large dumlecimo volume, paper cover, $1.50; cloth, $1.75. 

The Adventures ol a Mf»rquis, Paper cover, $1.00; or in one volume, cloth, for $1.75. 

The Forty-Five Lîuardsmen. Paper cover, $1.00; or in one volume, cloth, fi r $1.75. 

Bianu of Meridor. Paper co' er, $1.00; or in one volume, cloth, for $1 .75. 

The iron iiand. Price $1.00 in i)aiv>r cover, or in cne volnme, cloth, for $1.75. 

Isabel of Bavaria, <t,ueen ot France. In one large octavo volume. Prie*- 75 cents. 

Annette; or. The Ea«ly of the Pe.arls. A Companion to “Camille.” PrJ'-eTôcent* 

The Fallen Ang-el. A Story of Love and Life in Paris. One large volume. Price 75 ceatik 

The Mohicans of Paris, tl'i one large octavo volume. Price 75 cents. 

The Horrors of Paris. In one large octavo volume. Price 75 cents. 

The Man yvith Five Wives. In one large octavo volume. Price 75 cents. 

Sketches in France, In one large octavo volume. Price 75 cents. 

Felina de Fhavrihure; or. The Female Fiend. Price 75 cents. 

The Twin Eie«teu;tuts; or. The Soldier's Bride. Price 75 cents, 

Madame de Fhamhiay. In one large octavo volume. Price 50 ceuts. 

The Black Tulip. In one large octavo volume. Price 50 cents. 

The Forsscaiv Brother. In one largo octavo volume. Price 50 cents. 

<J«ovsre; OP, The Planter of the Isle of France. Price 50 cents. 

The Fount of Movet. In one large octavo volume. Pnee 50 cents. 

The Marriaii’C Verdict. In one large octavo volume. Price 50 cents. 

Buried Alive. In one large octavo volume. Price 25 cents. 

jK.W*‘Above hooks are for sale hy all Booksellers and News Agents, or co^'>st of arA 
sir more, will he sent to any one, post-paid, on remitting price to the PiMishers, 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, PhilfidelpZiia, 


GEORGE W. M. REYNOLDS’ WORKS 

NEW AND BEAUTIFUL EDITIONS, JUST READY. 

Eacli Work ij complote and unabridgod, ia ono large vclumo. 

Ail or any will be sent free of postage, everywhere, to all, or receipt of remittarces, 

Iflysforîo» of lïie f'onrt of I,on«1oii; heing THE MYSTEHIES OF THE COUTÎT Of 
fKüRîE THE THIRD, with tUn Liff. and î’mes o/" PRINCE OF WAJ.ES, t'//eî-w«r</ CiEuRCi 
IE FOUR ITl. Complété in one large volume, Round in cloth, price $1.73 ; or in paper cover, price SI. (K). 
Romo Foster: or, the “Second Series of the Mysteries of the Court of Loudou.” Complete in on# 
l.irge volume, hound in cloth, price $1.73; or in paper cover, pnce $1.30. 

C'aroiiiie of KriinstViicH ; or, the “Third Series of the Mysteries of the Court of London. 
Complete in one large volume, bound in cloth, price $1.73; or iti paper cover. ) ike$ .t 0. 

Veil C‘tia 'i’v«-rïaw!ie.v ; boingtho‘ Fourth t erics rfi itl conclusion of the Mysteries of the Ccu 
ot Udidon." Complete in one largo volume, buiiiid in cloth, price $ .73; or in paper cover, price $].(«•. 

SnxoiitLilc; or. The Court of Queen Viet lia. Complete in one hiigo volume, bound ic 
cloth, pi ice $1.75; or in paper cover, price $1.U0. 

t'oaiit Fli ri.slo vaj. The “Se<iuel to Lord Saxondale.” Compléta in one largo volume, bound 
In cloth, price $1.75; or in pa]>er cover, price $l.(i0. 

Ko^a djaiitberS; or, Tiie Memoiisof an Unfortunate Woman. Complete i.i ono large volume, 
bound in cloth, price $1.75 ; or in paper cov<'r, j-rice $1.00. 

Josejil* VVilitiul ; or, 'J he Aiemoirs of a Man Servant. Complete in one large volume, bound in 
cloth, price $1.75; or in paper cover, price $1.0(i. 

Tilt* l>aa;4'2iter. A Sequel to “Joseph Wilmot.” Complete in one large volume, 

bound in cloth, price $1.7.'>; or in paper to\er, price $!.0. . 

Tlse fit.vv-SlouHR Plot; or, Ruth, the t onsp ntor’s Laughter. Complete in one large volume, 
bound in cloth, price iiil.75 ; or in paper cover, price $l.(;u. 

TJie 31eiM*omas»t,*er. Being the Jlysteiies of the Court of Henry the Li«>;hth. CcnipUte i> 
Me large volume, bound in cloth, price $1.7 » ; or in paper co\er, price $i.O '. 

Mary Price; or. The Adventures of a Servant Jiaid. Due vol.,cl*'ih, price $1.73; or in paper $1 OQ 
EuHtacc i^ueiitiii. A “Sequel to Mary Price. ’ One vol,, cloth, j/rice $i.73; or in paper, 

Tlie Mysteries of the Court of Siapics. I'-lco Çl.ioin juiper cover ; or $1.75 in doil; 
licuBieth. A Romance of tlie Higlilaiids. One vol.. cloth, ]iiice #1.75; or in paper cover, $1.(0. 
Waîlace: the Hero of Scoiiaujf. Iilustiaied v iih j lates. leper, $M0; cloth, $1.75 
Tlie Oipsy flJiief. Beautifully Illusirated. 1 lice $1.00 in jiaper cover, or $1.75 in cloth. 
Robert Bruce; the iïero li iji.yr ol'{»cot»an<t. I lustrated. lVper,$J .00; cloth. $1.75 
Tile Opera Dancer; or. The Mysteries of l»ondon 1 ife. 1 rice 75 cents. 

Isabella Vincent; or, Th • Two Orpiians. One large octavo volume. Price 75 cei ts. 
Vivian Bertram ; or, A Wife’s Honor. A Sequel to “Isalella Vincent.” Price 73 cents. 
The C'ouiitess of 3,ascclSes. The Continuation to “Vivian 1 ertram ” Price 75 cents. 
Duke of Marchmout. Being the ('oT-eJuBion of ‘Ühe ( »)i iitess of Lsscelh s.” lTicc76ctnt» 
Tne Chilli of Waterloo; or. The Horrors of the I aitle Pield. Price 75 cents. 

Pickwick Abroad. A Compa ion to the “ I ickwick Papers,” by “ Boz.” Price 75 cents. 
The Fouutess and the Pa;i;e. One large octavo volume. Price 75 cents. 

Mary Stuart, i^ueen of Scots, Comiilete itwme large octavo volume. Price i 5 cents. 
Tiie'Soldier’s Wife. illU'trated. One large octavo voMime. 1 rice 73 cents. 

May Jliildietoii ; or, The Hist ry of a Portnne. In one large octavo volume. Price 75 cent# 
Tiie Loves of the Ilaroiii. One large octavo volume. Price 76 cents. 

Flieii Percy; or. The Memoirs of an Actress. One huge octavo volume. Price 76 cents. 

Tf.e Discarded Queen. One large octavo volume. Price 75 cen s. 

Ag’U^’’* Evelyn ; or. Beauty and Pleasure. One large octavo y> lume. Price 76 cents. 

Th'S Massacre of iJleiicoc. One large octavo voluine. Price 75 cents. 

The Parricide; or. Youth’s Career in Crime. Beeutifuliy Illustrated. I rice 75 cents. 
Fiprina: or. The Secrets of a Picture Oallcry. 0n« volume. I’l ice 5u cents. 
The Ruined Gamester. With Illustiations. One large octavo volume. 1 rice fO cent». 
Rife in Paris, Handsomely illustrated. One large octavo volume. 1 rice 50 cents. 
(C'lifford asiil the Actress. One large octavo volume. Price 50 cents. 

£dj;:ar Mojirrose. Oue large octavo voluiue. Price 50 cents. 

above works will be found for sale by all Booksellers and News Agents. 
1^^ Copies of any one, or more, or all of Reynolds* works, will be sent to any plac% 
nr or^ce, post-paid, on remitting price of ones wanted to the Publishers, 

T. B. PES?EIiSON & BliOTHEBS, Philadelpliia, F 



EACH IS IX OXfl LARGE DUODECIMO VOLUME, MOROCCO CLOTH, GILT BACK, PRICE $1.76 EACH. 
All or any will be sent free of postage, everywhere, to all, on receipt of remittances. 

R5HMAEL; or, IN THE DEPTHS. (Being “Self-Made; or, Out of Depths.** 
SELF-RAISED; or, From the Depths. The Sequel to “Ishmael.” 

THE PHANTOM V^EDDING; or, the Fall of the House of Flint. 

THE “MOTHER-IN-LAW;” or, MARRIED IN HASTE. 

THE MISSING BRIDE; or, MIRIAM, THE AVENGER. 

VICTOR’S TRIUMPH. The Sequel to “A Beautiful Fiend.” 

A BEAUTIFUL FIEND; or, THROUGH THE FIRE. 

THE LADY OF THE ISLE; or, THE ISLAND PRINCESS. 

FAIR PLAY; or, BRITOMARTE, THE MAN-HATER. 

HOW HE WON HER. The Sequel to “Fair Play.” 

THE CHANGED BRIDES ; or. Winning Her Way. 

THE BRIDE S FATE. The Sequel to “The Changed Brides.” 
CRUEL AS THE GRAVE; or, Hallow Eve Mystery. 

TRIED FOR HER LIFE. The Sequel to “ Cruel as the Grave.” 

THE CHRISTMAS GUEST ; or. The Crime and the Curse. 

THE LOST HEIR OF LINLITHGOW; or, The Brothers. 

A NOBLE LORD. The Sequel to “The Lost Heir of Linlithgow.” 
THE FAMILY DOOM; or, THE SIN OF A COUNTESS. 

THE MAIDEN WIDOW. The Sequel to “The Family Doom.” 

THE GIPSY’S PROPHECY; or. The Bride of an Evening. 

THE FORTUNE SEEKER; or, Astrea, The Bridal Day. 

THE THREE BEAUTIES ; or, SHANNONDALE. 

FALLEN PRIDE; or, THE MOUNTAIN GIRL’S LOVE. 

THE DISCARDED DAUGHTER; or. The Children of the Isle. 

THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS; or, HICKORY HALL. 

THE TWO SISTERS ; or, Virginia and Magdalene. 

THE FATAL MARRIAGE; or, ORVILLE DEVILLE. 

INDIA; or, THE PEARL OF PEARL RIVER. THE CURSE Of CLIFTON 
THE WIDOW’S SON; or, LEFT ALONE. 

THE MYSTERY OF DARK HOLLOW. 

ALLWORTH ABBEY ; or, EUDORA, 

THE BRIDAL EVE; or, ROSE ELMER. 

VIVIA; or, THE SECRET OF POWER. 

THE HAUNTED HOMESTEAD. 

BRIDE OF LLEWELLYN. THE DESERTED WIFE. RETRIBUTION 
Mrs. Southworth' s works will he found for sale by all Booksellers. 
pkiT' Copies of any one, or more of Mrs. Soyithworth' s works, will be sent to onf 
at once, per mail, post-paid, on remitting price of ones wanted to the Publishers 

B. PBTERSON & BROTHERS, Pliiladelpliia, 


THE WIFE’S VICTORY 
THE SPECTRE LOVER. 

THE ARTIST’S LOVE. 
THE FATAL SFXRET. 

LOVE’S LABOR WON. 
THE LOST HEIRESS. 


A New Novel.— An Idyl of West Point. 





HEAETS AE’D BELL-BUTTOISrS. 

Bllisra- K^lsÆILTOlSr. 

With an Illustrated Cover of Life at West Point. 


“ifiLDRED’s Cadet” is just such a novel as readers, especially the ladies, have 
Ion" been lookin" for. It is a light, breezy, sparkling love story, charming from 
first to last, and full of telling points. An idyl of West Point, its sub-iitle, “ Hearts 
and Bell-Buttons,” sounds its key-note. Mildred, the heroine, is an only daughter. 
Her father, a wealthy and ambitious Pittsburgher, and her mother, a vain, silly 
woman, desire her to wed a man many years her senior. Of course, Mildred dislikes 
and despises her venerable suitor, lier parents take her to West Point to pass a few 
summer weeks, and there she immediately falls in love with a cadet. This brief inkling 
of the })lot is sufficient to show the drift of the tale, and to indicate what romantic inci- 
dents must crop out as it progresses. These incidents are related in the most delight- 
ful atid absorbing fashion, and are altogether devoid of those conventional namby- 
pamby features common to most love stories. There is a vigorous and original tone 
about the book that cannot help making itself felt, as all who read it will readily 
acknowledge. The language is crisp, the descriptions picturesque, and the characters 
so naturally drawn that they seem ready to step down from the j)ages and take part 
in actual life. The authoress, Alice King Hamilton, is the wife of a United States 
.Vrmv officer, and has all the details of West Point experiences at her finger ends; 
indeed, her acquaintance with the innermost details of life at the famous military 
academy is absolutely astonishing, and will prove a startling surprise to the cadets 
themselves, very many matters being touched upon in her fascinating romance which 
have never as yet beconrc })ublic prr>])erty through the))en of any writer. The})icture 
of West Point Is, without doubt, e.xceptionally complete and graphic. Everything is 
most realistically and effectively depicted, ami all the favorite resorts in the vicinity 
figure in the story. Ample attention is bestowed upon the cadets, and the reader 
becomes thoroughly acquainted with those interesting individuals. “Mildred’s 
(’ai)ET” is just the book for summer reading, but so unusually attractive is it that 
it cannot come amiss at any time. That it will excite general curiosity and become 
vastly poj)ular in all parts of the country does not admit of doubt. Those who once 
take it up will not put it down until they have finished it, and all will own that its 
merit is ecpial to its interest. The book has a beautifully illustrated cover, depicting 
“Tai)s,” “ Bell-Buttons,” “Cupids,” “ Hearts,” “Sabres ” and other scenes character- 
istic of the cadets and West Point in thoroughly artistic and striking style. 


Illustrated Paper Cover, 75 Cents. Morocco Cloth, Gilt and Black, $1.00. 


^‘Mildred's Cadet ” ü for sale by all Booksellers and News Agents^ or copies of 
it will be sent to any one, at once, post-paid, on remitting price to the ptthlishers, 



Octave Feaillet’s New Worls.**^ 


THEHISTORYofaPARîSÎENNE 

(HISTOIRE D’UNE PARISIENNE.) 

' BEING THE STORY OF A PARISIAN WOMAN OF FASHION. 
BY ©CTAVÎ3 FISUILLET. 

AUTHOR OF “ THE COUNT D3 CAMO:?S," “ THE AMOURS OF PHILIPPE ; OR, PHILIPPE’s LOVE AFFAIRS,*' 
“ BliLLAH,” “the little COUNTESS,” ETC. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY CHARLES RIPLEY. 


In *^The History of a Parisienne,^' Octave Feidllet makes a novel out 
of the materials which he finds in the upper circles of aristocratic society 
in France. His aim is to show how an acco77iplished, beautiful and a77ii~ 
able girl, may be transfor77ted, by beùig wedded to a wo7'thless, cynical and 
depraved husba7id, hito a kmd of moral monster, capable of a7iything a7id 
believhîg in 7iothing. He lays the bUwie of the ruin of77iany 77iarried wome7t 
to the carelessness or perj^ersity of their 77wthe7's m accepti7ig husbands for 
the77i who are 7tot suited to win their hearts or to understa/id their souls. 
Every page is illummated by so7ne bright witticis7n or profoimd observation. 
As a work of art, one ca7i7îot fail to get great pleasu7'e out of the book ; 
while for cleverness, thrilli7ig hiterest, a7id beauty of style, it is imquestion- 
ably one of the 7nost poiverful and successful wo7'ks ever put fo7'th by this 
gifted author. Highly original m for77i a7td mtensely dra77iatic, it also sta7ids 
unrivalled as an exa77iple of terse and graphic character-painting ; and the 
te7-rible transf jn77ation wrought m the 7iature of a pure a7id noble woma7i 
by evil associates a7id the brutality of a coarse a7id U7isc7'upulous husba7td 
is delineated with a skill that holds the reader spell- bound to the end. 


Paper Cover, 50 Cents. Morocco Cloth, Gilt and Black, $1.00. 


The History of a Parisienne^* is issued in a large square i2mo. 
volume, in uniform style with “The Count de Camors,” “ Bellah,” “The 
Little Countess,” and “The Amours of Philippe,’’ by Octave Feuillet, and 
with the works of “ Henry Greville,” and “ Emile Zola,” issued by us, all of 
which books are for sale by all Booksellers and News Agents, and on all Rail- 
road Trains, or copies of any one, or all of the books, will be sent to any one, 
post-paid, on remitting their price to the Publishers, 


EMILE ZOLA’S NEW BOOKS 


The Greatest Novels Ever Printed. 


Head wliat “Mrs, lincy H. Hooper” says of “Emile Zola’s Works,” in 
the “Philadelphia Evening’ Telegraph.” 

The immense success of Zola forms a curious feature in the literary history of this age. For he is 
not only honored by the critics, who recognize his strength, his pitiless audacity, his po.si.ive gînius, 
but he is the idol of all classes on account of the truthfulness of his delineations. Now I do not join 
with the world at large in considering Zola immoral. He is no more immoral than a physician lec- 
turing about certain phases of horror in the condition of a patient afflicted with mortal disease. 
Nobody will arise from the perusal of Zola’s books possessed with a desire to imitate the actions or to 
follow the example of his heroes and heroines. His works are not demoralizing. He never makes 
vice lovely', never paints it in alluring tints, never strews its pathway with flowers. He is simply, lit- 
erally, and pitilessly true to life in his powerful delineations. He is a French Thackeray. The talent 
of the two men — the author of Vanity Fair and the author of the Assommoir — is almost identical, 
modified in each by the conditions of their nationality and of the society for which they wrote. Place 
'I'hackeray in Paris, the son of- Parisian parents, and Va?iity Fair will become exasperated into La 
Cur'e. Transfer Zola to London, and transform him into an Englishman, and he will write 7'he Story 
of Pendennis instead of The History of the Rougon-Maeguarts. Nor are Zola’s books the epheme- 
ral productions of an hour. They arc immortal because they are true. Two hundred years from now, 
historians seeking to tell the tale of the France of the Second Empire and the Third Republic, will 
turn to Zola as to a gallery of photographs taken from the life. Zola is in literature what Holbein was 
in art. His immense hold over the sympathies of the lower orders was nev..r more fully shown than 
since the production of the melodrama drawn from his novel of Nana, at the Ambigu. I went on 
Saturday night last, and the throng w.is extraordinary. And here let it be slated, once for all, that 
Nana is not an indecent play. It is superbly put upon the stage, is admirably played, and is a very 
curious and accurate study of an important phase of Parisian life. “Nana” is simply a realistic 
“Camille.” She is a frivolous, good-hearted, conscienceless creature, and as for remorse, or aspirations 
after a purer or nobler life, such ideas never cross her brain. She holds in her vacant .soul one nobler 
instinct, and that is her love for her child. In this respect Zola has been true to life as in other details. 

LIST OF EMILE ZOLA’S GREAT WORKS. 

Xana! The Sequel to “L’Assommoir.” Nana! By Emile Zola. With a Picture oj 
“Nana ” on the cover. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or One Dollar in Cloth, Black and Gold. 

Nana's Mather; or. Li'.\ssi»iiiiiioir. By Emile Zola, author of “Nana.” With a 
Picture o/“ Gervaise,” Nana’s mother, on the cover. Price 75 C!.nts in paper, or One Dollar in Cloth. 

'rhfirese liaqilin. By Emile Zola, Sint'noT oi “Nana.” With a Portrait 0 / “ Emile Zola” 
on the coz'er. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or One Dollar in Cloth, Black and Gold. 

Ea Cnr?e. By Emile Zola, author of “Nana.” Price 75 cents in paper cover, or One Dollar 
in Cloth, Black and Gold. 

Mag<lalen Ferat. By Emile Zola, author oî “Nana." With a Picture of “Magdalen 
Ferat” on the cover. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in Cloth, Black and Gold. 

i'larinda; or, Zola’s Court of Napoleon III. By Emile Zola, author of “Nana.” 
With a Picture of“Clorinda ” on the coz>er. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in Cloth. 

Alhnie; or. The Abhe's Temptation. (La Faute de L'Abbe Monret.) By 

Emile Zola. With a Picture of “Albine” on the cover. Price 75 cents in paper, or $1.25 in Cloth. 

Iï61^ne; a Love Episode; or, Fne Page I>’ Amour. By Emile Zola, author of 
“ Nana.” With a Picture of“H:iène ” on the cover. Price 75 cents in paper cover, or ^1.25 in Cloth. 

'File Mon’xon-Maeqnart Family; or. Miette. (La Fortune des Rongon.) 

By E/nile Zola, author of “Nana.” Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in Cloth. 

’Fbe Conquest of Plassans; or. La Conquête de Plassaus. By Emile Zola, 
author of “Nana.” Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in Cloth, Black and Gold. 

'Fhe Markets of Paris; or. Le Ventre de B'aris. By Emile Zola, author of 
“Nana.” Price 75 cents in paper cover, or $1.25 in Cloth, Black and Gold. 

iVS’" Above Books are for sale by all Booksellers and Nevs Agents everywhere, and on all RaiU 
Road Trains, or copies of any one book, or all of them, will be sent to any one, to anyplace, at once, 
per mail, post-paid, on remitting the price, of the ones wanted in a letter to the Publishers, 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, Philadelphia, Pa. 


NANA’S DAUGHTER. 

A CONTINUATION OF AND 

SEQUEL TO ÉMiLE ZOLA’S NOVEL OF “NANA.” 


TRANSLATED FROM ADVANCE FRENCH SHEETS 

B'Z' j-omr sTii^Lzisra-. 


NANAIS DAUGHTER» HAS AN ILLUSTRATED COVER, WITH 
A PORTRAIT OF THE HEROINE AND OF ALL THE 
FRINCIFAL CHARACTERS IN THE WORK ON IT. 


“Nana’S Daughter” is a sequel to Emile Zola’s world-famous “Nana.” It 
will be found even more interestiiijj: than that great work — first, because it has a ])lot 
of rare excellence which is unfolded with the utmost skill; second, because the inci- 
dents are intensely dramatic and exciting; and third, because everything about it is 
original and utterly out of the common track of fiction. Nana is again brought upon 
the stage, but in a manner that is not in the least repugnant to good taste. The authors 
have lefiued her, and surrounded her with every siiecies of Parisian elegance and lux- 
ury. Her wealtli is numbered by millions, and in certain circles she is a jiower. Of 
course, she remains a schemer and jirofits by the weaknesses of her admirers, but she 
is shorn of many characteristics which in Zola’s book rendered her so repulsive. Her 
daughter, Andrée, is in every respect her o})posite, and a sweeter or more attractive 
creature than she has never figured in a novel. Deserted in her infancy by her unfeel- 
ing motlier and thrown upon the mercies of public charity, Andrée is adopted by an 
upright mechanic and his wife, and is brought uj>in the most exemplary fashion.* In 
the course of the tale she is environed with many temptations, but her good sense and 
education enable her to withstand them all and to shine the brighter in consequence 
of them. Nana discovers her whereabouts and endeavors to get possession of her, her 
efforts bringing about a series of scenes unparalleled in modern fiction, and so absorb- 
ing that they absolutely enchain attention. The authors’ aim is to show that evil 
instincts are not hereditary, the reverse of what is maintained by Zola, and that they 
succeed in forcibly stating, if not in proving, their case all will admit on reading 
“Nana’s Daughter.” The other characters are drawn in masterly fashion, Pierre 
Naviel, d’Albigny, Luke, Lucien Despretz, Margot and Madame Adèle Despretz, aa 
welt as the Rajah, being personages especially instinct with life and naturalness. The 
courtship of Andrée and J.,uc.ien, with all the shatlows that fall u}>on it, is a delicious 
love idyl that everybody will admire, so tender, felicitous an<l tcmching is it, and so 
artistically heightened by the Rajah’s hopeless passion. “Nana’.s Daughter” is 
superbly written. It is, indeed, a ))henomenal work, and that it will create a .sensation 
equal to that ju-oduced by “ Nana” is certain. The translation, from the French, by 
John Stirling cannot be too highly commended. It is vigorous, faithlul and excellent. 


Paper Cover, 75 Cents. Morocco Cloth, Gilt and Black, $LCO. 

Nana's Daughter ” is for sale by all Booksellers and News Agents, or copies of 
a will be sent to any one, at once, post-paid, on remitting price, to the puhlUhers, 

T. B. PETERSO]ïf & BROTHERS, Philadelphia, Pa. 


•* It win e»Te many dollars.”— i^m Jfass. Reporter, 

CHEAPEST AND BEST!^=^ 


PETERSON'S MAGAZINE ! 


F'O'ZiZ.-SIZS PAFBK PATTSKITSÎ 

\ 


JB^S^ A Supplement will he given in every wmbrr fiir ISSl, containing « f nil-size paffem for a 
lady's IT child's d' css. Every subscriber will receive, during the year, twelve of these patterns, worth 
more, alone, than the subscription price,‘%2^ 


“Pf.tek'ON’s Magazine” contains every year, 1000 rages, 14 steel 12 colored Berlin 

patterns, 12 iiiiiniinoth colored fashion piutes, 24 pa^^es of iniisio, and about 9U0 wood cuts, lis princi- 
pal embeihsiinients aro 

Its immense circulation enables its proprietor to spend more on embellishments, stories, Ac., 
than any other. It gn es more for Vie mom j, on L c milnni'S more merits, than any in the world. In 
lÜ6l, a New Jj’eatuee will be introduced in the siiapo of a series of 

SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED ARTICLES. 

ITS TALES AND NOVELLETS 

Are the best pnblislied anywhere. All the most po-rodor wrifpvs are employed, to wrile origin nV y for 
“P/rt< Ill Ibhl ] IVl> (iRiGTNAL ( OrYEIGIIT NOVELE'l.S \v !1 be j ivtn.l y Ann S. Stei liens, 
by Frank Lee Benedict, by Jiiuo G. Austin, by the author of *• Josiah Allen’s Wife,” and by Sidney 
Trevor. 



Ahead of all others. These plates are engraved on steel, twice the usual size, and are unequalled 
for beauty. 'They will be superbly colored Also, household aud other receipts; and articles oa 
everything interesting to ladies. 


T2CRMS (Always in Advance) $2.00 A YEAR. 
ÆirUNPARALLELED OFFERS TO CLUBS.-^ 


3 Copies for S3. 50 

3 “ “ 4.50 

4 Copies for SO-'^O 

Ü “ 9.00 


{ 


M'ith a copy of the premium picture ^24 x a cosily sieil enorovfvg 
“Grt.XN FATHEa TELLS i P Ytil.KToWN ’’ or all i.lu.^tuUfU quui Lo, 

gut, to the person gelt.ug up the Cii.b. 

With an extra copy of the Magazine for 1881, as a premium, to the 
liersou gelling up the ciub. 


,'5 Copies for ®8.00 
7 “ «* 10.50 


With both .''n extra copj' of the Maga'/ina for 1881 . and the premium 
picture, or Aloum, lo ILe person geltiug up the ciub. 


rau LABQEM CLUB^ ETILE QEBATER INBUGEMEmS ! 


Address, post-paid, 

CHARLES J. PETERSON, 

30G Chestnut Sti-eet, rhiludelphia, Pau 


jg^^pecimenasent gratis, if written for, to get clubs with. 


ütLssian **Iiobiiisoxi Crusoe»” 



A RUSSIAN STORY. 

By ViCTOR TISSOT and CONSTANT AMÉR0. 


“ The Exiles,” by Victor Tissot and Constant Améro, will at once attract attention 
for many reasons. In tlie first place, it is an admirable love story such as everybody 
can appreciate. Then, it enters so fully into the details of convict life in Siberia that 
all will want to rea<l it at this time, when the public mind is so much taken up with 
the exciting state of lins<ian affairs, and when every one desires to know all that can 
be known concerning tiie punishment of exile which is probably in store for those 
suspected of Nihilism. The hero, Yegor Séménoff, has been exiled to Siberia for 
]>oiitical causes. There, after being rescued from the dreadful drudgery of the mines 
by a powerful personage who makes him his secretary, he meets Nadège Davidotf, 
wdiom he loved in Russia, and who has followed her father into banishment. At the 
father’s death-bed he agrees to marry Nadège, and the twain plan an escape from the 
land of exile. The details of this escape make up the bulk of the book, and to say 
that they are intensely interesting would be to give but a feeble idea of their absorb- 
ing nature. The lovers, accompanied by M. Lafleur, a French dancing-master, who 
is an enthusiastic believer in liberty, and Ladislas, a Polish boy, and followed by 
Yermac, the chief of police of Yakoutsk, flee to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The 
adventures of the party are varied and thrilling. They are caught in a hurricane, are 
attacked by wolves, fall into the clutches of the Esaoiile of an ostrog or (’ossack mili- 
tary post, discover a whaler embedded in the ice, and suffer all sorts of privati(in3 
during the long and bitter cold polar night. For the remaining particulars of the plot 
the reader is referred to the work itself. “The Exiles” has “Robinson <>usoe” 
features which will make it a vast favorite with the young, and, at the same time, its 
entire purity renders it a fit book to be put into the hands of any child. Older people 
will follow it with avidity from the first page to the last, so thickly <lo the exciting 
iiiciiients crowd one upon another. In fact, “ The Exiles” is simp y wonderful from 
the amount of action it contains; yet it is not in any respect sensational. The infor- 
mation it gives relative to Siberia is both valuable and copious, its authors, who are 
well-kmnva Parisian writers, having devoted years to the study of that country, its 
people, institutions and peculiarities. This information is conveyed in the most felic- 
itous and entertaining way, and is so deftly worked into the story as not to encumber 
it at any point. The descri|)tions of the aurora borealis, the mirage and the breaking 
up of the ice are marvellously vivid, realistic and beautiful, aud the characters are 
so strongly drawn that they are ])hotographed on the memory. In a w’ord, “The 
Exiles” is a masterpiece in ever}' point of view, and those who fail to read it will 
miss a treat of no ordinary kind. The work of translation has been done by George 
D. Cox in his usual style of excellence, and the great romance is given to the Ameri- 
can public in ail its remarkable attractiveness. , -, - 

: 'O O 

Paper Cover, 75 Cents. Morocao (îioth, Giîî and Black, $1.00. 


Exiles'' is for sale hif all Bjohscllers arid Xews Agents, or copies of “The 
Exiles'’ will be sent io any one, at once, post-paid, on remitting price to the publUhtrs, 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, Philadelphia, Pa. 







• ' i 


^ -w, 







F 

/ Vf 

*.v .- .-Tt 'i*» 

'."* '/'4A 

2 1 1 1 . l.t*.*#T j 


II: 


' \ « 




/ , 




^ »lf-4' ' 



■ ♦ 


■ v' 


%■, ■ 








4 


' V 






ià -V 

i'- A 


w • > 





'âê^. ■ 'V - '• t ' ' ^ '• ■' • •<'*A^ii^ 

Wi^Jt >• .• f ■■ ■■ «< ’' f -'. «I*--* • ^rW»^> 

uMM ‘ ■ J. 4A . . ^ M , I *; 


V #1 

>m,*vvs*' 


i ■•i®’ 





























0 


o > 

^ ^ t o N 0 

V 

* \\* ^ 
^ ^<P ^V 




^ xt ^ 

\ I 8 '^/- 0 <, K ■*' 

-/ c> 

'"oo^ = 

\ rv -’ y ^ ^ c^ A. 

« ' ^ - . . , ^ 0 S 0 " ir 

^ ^ r^ « 



^ -* i> * ^ 




0 >- s ^ 


r. 


•'V V, ^ 


a' . ' ' » « '•^J, 





0 J> X 




*X V 

o 0^ 


^ oV % 

.0^ c « ^ " -p 

.X 

V^ ; 


'> * ' ' " o^^' s ^ ^ 




.H ’T*. 


O i, ^ ^ 

j -rly- ■) N \V 

^ C‘ v^ 

<« V'„ .V. 



</^ ^ 





>- ’ 


<* 

r,. ^ 

/ / 

///( «Srf 


L 


i 

p 

^ tf 1 


« 

r 

-\ 



^ o 


^ '0<^ 

“I ‘ V- ' “ * ^ ° ' 

' '^- .’J'° 

-< 

^ 0^ 



X 


0 






^aO ^ 

.0‘ t ^ >p ^ <p^ 

O ^ 

H. 


« a. 


% ‘‘T7<-' -o'^ 9= , 

''. •> .0- ■"‘° v> 

'% " 

//>7 y. - j_ 

^ \V‘ 

.\V “ 




V’ 9-^*0^ 




I A 



< 



,0' s 

a'^ 

NX yVi 

o 

^ ^ ^ \\A‘ ^ o 

'i . o V -^' '>■ ^l0«Se’ ‘'X^ .-^ 

% °o ,^IZ" % 

^ ^ ^0 
; x0°-<. 

O- y o _w- 

. . .. ., ,0 ’^v 8 I T 

^ \ ' ^ ^ /- > 

^ <? e, * 



, ‘.^0’ .#' 




' ^ V ^ * b O \XA" 

0> .v ^ / -A 3 N 0 ^ \V 



^.0 hO ^ 

sues - . 



' * #■ ‘■» 7 ;,»' .' 

> . o ''’ . ' 


^ - • 



^ ■' A 

<. V I « ^ O 


✓ v . ^ ^y- 

^ ^ ' A 

I'. V* ; 

0 q. -► 

' .i® . . °^t- " ■> ~ « ’ \' 

- o v ' » 

<^* <v* ^ /k 


o 



0 

2; 

< 


z 

0 



0 

« 


a 
" 


*>^ V 

o çy 


• A_ . 


. ocv . 


.O*^ s 

V 



^'■ 








